News Highlights:
- DG of NITDA, urged tech experts and start-ups to partner with government in shaping regulations that balance innovation and stability.
- Inuwa highlighted the need for collective efforts to strengthen Africa’s digital economy by building infrastructure for cross-border data flow.
Industry experts and tech start-ups have been called upon to collaborate with the government in shaping strong regulations that will drive human and infrastructural development, helping to unlock Africa’s vast potential.
Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, made this call at the second edition of the annual Moonshot Tech Conference 2024 which brought together the brightest minds in the African tech space held at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos State.
Inuwa, who spoke as a panellist at the conference that brought together Africa’s tech ecosystem in person to network, collaborate and share insights, spoke on the topic, “Building Digital Economies for the World: How African Countries are Shaping their Tech Economies to Compete Across the Continent and Globally”.
He emphasized the need to strike a balance between innovation and regulation, explaining that innovation is about transforming ideas into meaningful solutions. However, while creativity fuels innovation, he pointed out that regulation serves as a safeguard to maintain stability.
“At NITDA, we developed an intelligent regulatory framework that will help us understand the terrain before placing regulations. A regulation that will make us intelligent, understand what you are trying build, understand the value you are bringing to the market and dynamic because we need to create that room for people to navigate,” he stated.
Inuwa emphasized the crucial role of collaboration between governments and the private sector in unlocking patient local capital across the continent. He also highlighted that Africa’s most valuable asset in the tech ecosystem is its human capital.
“According to the World Bank report, by the year 2030, there would be 85 million talent deficits globally which if left unharnessed, could lead to $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual value.”
“So, in Africa, looking at our young population, we can harness that population and position ourselves to become the global talent factory to bridge this gap deficit,” he added.
The Director General emphasized the importance of governments raising awareness about the technology ecosystem’s potential, not only for addressing local issues but also for tackling global challenges.
He noted that in Nigeria, the Nigeria Startup Act was developed in collaboration with the tech ecosystem, with a focus on encouraging venture capital, registering innovation hubs, and establishing a council to boost local capital investments.
Inuwa also called for collective efforts to strengthen Africa’s digital economy, emphasizing the need to build digital infrastructure that enables content sharing across Africa and facilitates cross-border data flow.
Other panellists who shared valuable insights alongside him included Dr. Augustina Odame, CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Technology; David Manley, Chief Technology Advisor of Sierra Leone; and Marieme Kane, Director of Innovation at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Mauritania.