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Wednesday 29th March, 2023

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Data Plays Critical Role In Entrenching Digital Economy, Says NITDA DG

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Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, NITDA DG

Director General National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has hinted that Data plays a critical role in a digital economy.

Abdullahi stated this while participating in an online US-Nigeria Digital Trade standards workshop organised by the US-Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

The event which had as theme: ‘Current state of Data privacy and security in Nigeria’ was one of the activities to mark the Data privacy week which commenced on Monday 25th of January 2021.

He noted that in a digital economy, data plays a huge role in everyday activities, as enormous amount of data is generated, collected and stored by all equipment which dominates human lives.

He gave an example of the various uses to which a seemingly innocuous gadget such as mobile phones are being put behind the scene.

On the subject of discourse, the DG examined it basically from three perspectives namely: what data protection is, how they differ and overlap, how both are affected by digitalization and finally, what government is doing to protect and strengthen the right to privacy and data protection.

“Data protection, contrary to popular belief, is not the same thing as privacy. Privacy is a broad concept referring to the condition which enables the basic foundation of human dignity, but data protection is more specific.

“It is concerned with the way a third party handles the information they hold about us, how it is collected, processed, shared, stored and used. In other words, privacy is the big picture and data protection is one corner of it,” Abdullahi said.

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On the second perspective, the NITDA DG explained how digitalization is creating new ways to collect, access, analyse and use data across multiple borders and jurisdiction, with challenges to data privacy.

On what Nigerian government is doing to protect and strengthen privacy and data protection, the DG reminded the audience that the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) issued on 25th January 2019 was crafted to meet the global standard on data protection and provide unique and innovative implementation matrix.

“Part of the NDPR implementation strategy is sustained public awareness which was undertaken between May and October 2019. Indeed, Nigeria is the first country on the African Continent to dedicate a week to Data Protection Public Awareness.

“Other measures include Establishment of Data Protection Compliance Organizations (DPCOs), Data Breach Investigation Team and Police Enforcement Teams among others.

“In addition, the NDPR implementation framework has also succeeded in ensuring that within a year of coming on stream, a total of 635 data audit reports were filed by various entities across 13 sectors of the Nigerian economy, just as 15 investigations on alleged data breaches were undertaken while 2,686 jobs were created.

“A mark of Nigerian leadership in the digital world within the African continent explains why she currently sits as the vice-chair of the Policy and Regulatory Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA) and a full member of the Common Thread Network (CTN), A network of Commonwealth Nations Data Protection Authority,” Abdullahi said.

After the formal presentation, the DG took questions from the audience on various issues of the discourse with answers provided to the satisfaction of all the participants.

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NiRA, EFCC Sign MoU To Train Personnel On Cyber Security

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L-r: President, NIRA, Muhammed Rudman, and the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, during the agreement signing ceremony in Abuja.

The Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NIRA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to provide cyber security training for the personnel of the EFCC and other national security organisations.

NiRA is the registry for .ng Internet Domain Names, responsible for and maintaining the database of names registered in the .ng country code Top Level Domain.

The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Abdulrasheed Bawa, speaking during the MoU signing ceremony at the EFCC Head Office, Jabi, Abuja, reiterated the resolve of the Commission to build the capacity of the personnel to effectively combat the emerging trends in cyber security.

The Nigerian Internet Registration Association, NIRA delegation to the ceremony, was led by its President, Muhammed Rudman.

Bawa said the MoU would further boost the understanding of his personnel on the modern trends in cyberspace and assist the Commission’s investigations.

“We are very proud to collaborate with you because we realize that part of our mandate is collaboration. We need relevant stakeholders whether in government or private sector to achieve our mandate,” he said.

The EFCC boss, while expressing delight over the collaboration, said that the EFCC had a well-equipped Academy to sustain the training.

A group photograph of NIRA and EFCC officials at the MoU signing ceremony


“I find this MoU very appealing. I accept your collaboration and we are ready to start as soon as possible.

“We have a well-equipped Academy to carry out this training and I advise that the training is not only onsite but also online so that many people can join, and even other agencies can benefit from this using the same platform,” he added.

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Earlier, the President of NIRA, Muhammed Rudman while providing some insight into the goals of NiRA, stated that the purpose of the MoU was to strengthen collaboration between his Association and the EFCC.

According to him, there was a huge gap between NIRA and law enforcement agencies, which needed to be bridged.

“We have law enforcement agencies locking up for Registrars when there are cyber security issues in terms of websites, based on the crimes perpetrated by end users.

“So, to protect our Registrars from having challenges with law enforcement, we identify EFCC as the right partner to provide capacity building to address these gaps in terms of cybersecurity awareness and general knowledge of ICT,” he said.

He added that when the MoU was fully implemented it would benefit not only the EFCC but other agencies as well.

“To be honest with you, we want to kick-start this project as soon as possible to give high-level capacity building on the internet and how it works, to address the needs of Law Enforcement Agencies, using EFCC as an umbrella body to bridge the cybersecurity gap,” Rudman said.

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NITDA, World Bank Train 200 Women On Content Creation

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Photo Session with NITDA DG, Kasifu Inuwa; Executive Director of NATVIEW TECH, Nuradeen Maidoki alongside participants of the Digital Skills Training

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with NATVIEW and World Bank has successfully rounded off a pilot digital skills development programme called “Gina Mata, Gina Al-Umma”, designed to identify, prepare, and connect disadvantaged girls and young women with emerging skills in the knowledge economy.

The programme which is part of activities to celebrate International Women’s Day and given the dire need to position young women for global participation in the Gig economy is geared towards integrating gender-intentional learning outcomes focused on technical training, soft skills, and right-based learning for young women interested in the tech ecosystem.

At the closing ceremony of the four-day event, the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, noted that the training programme which is hinged on creating potential economic opportunities, increasing livelihoods, and access to better lives through the Gig economy is in line with the Agency’s mission to place Nigeria on the path to attaining 95% digital literacy by 2030, in alignment with the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030.

The DG who recognised the fact that women are underrepresented in the technology sector avowed that with programmes like the Gina Mata, Gina Al-Umma programme, NITDA aims to bridge the gap by providing young women with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the digital economy.

“At NITDA, we are very excited about this partnership with the World Bank, which is in line with our initiative of one million software developers and skills by the end of 2023; Our core mandate is to develop and regulate the information technology sector in Nigeria because we believe that the future of our nation lies in the development of its human resources, and as such, we are committed to providing access to training and development opportunities for all Nigerians,” Inuwa stressed.

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Inuwa who seized the opportunity to thank the World Bank for driving the initiative and the implementation partner, Natview Technology, acknowledged the importance of partnerships in achieving the organisation’s goals, noting that Natview Technology has a proven track record of delivering quality digital skills development programmes, and expressed thanks for the execution of the pilot training programme.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as we round off this pilot today, let us remember that the digital economy holds vast opportunities for economic growth and development. However, to fully realize these opportunities, we must ensure that all Nigerians, regardless of gender, have access to the necessary skills and knowledge,” he said.

The NITDA Boss urged all the young women who participated in the training to take full advantage of the opportunity to make significant contributions to the digital economy and Nigeria’s development.

Inuwa reiterated NITDA’s commitment to ensuring that the entire citizenry is empowered with information technologies through the development of a critical mass of proficient and globally competitive IT manpower.

According to him, NITDA remains poised to actualise its mandate through strategic and inclusive stakeholder management, local and international partnership, and efficient utilisation of resources in the interest of Nigeria.

The Director-General who later presented certificates to the participants congratulated them and expressed the hope of seeing the positive impact of the programme on the lives of young women in Nigeria.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director, Natview Technology, Nuradeen Maidoki who earlier welcomed everyone to the closing ceremony described the Fasaha: Gina Mata, Gina Al-umma (“Building Women, Empowering Communities”) being implemented by Natview Technology as part of the firm’s contribution towards driving digital literacy and skills across Nigeria.

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While appreciating NITDA and the World Bank for delivering digital competency beyond Nigeria, Maidoki said through the initiative, Natview hopes to create a pipeline of highly skilled female technologists who can contribute to innovation and growth in Nigeria’s technology industry as the firm believes that by empowering young women with digital skills, it can create a more inclusive and diverse technology industry that reflects the richness and diversity of the society.

“During the 4-day launch, 200 young women were selected to participate in the digital content creation training. Beyond the digital content creation training, these young women also received skills training that will enable them to participate in the gig economy, which creates a platform for them to earn income from home,” Maidoki noted.

“The goal of the programme is to train and equip at least 800 girls and young women with digital skills and competencies to be globally competitive in the remote workplace. The pilot launch focuses on training 200 women around digital content creation and marketing while in the future, an additional 600 young women will be integrated from four Northern Nigeria states (Borno, Gombe, Kano, Zamfara) with high FCV cases,” Maidoki added.

 

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UK-Nigeria Tech Hub And Google Collaborate For Startups

-To Award $3 Million Cloud Credit To Women Founders

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A panel session at the programme marking the International Women’s Day by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google, held in Lagos

The UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, a pillar of the UK government’s broader Digital Access Program (DAP), has announced a collaboration with Google for Startups, Africa.

This collaboration will see the two entities award $3 million in Google Cloud credits to women founders in Nigeria.

This support will subsidise cloud technology-related costs for startups, allowing them to focus on innovation, customer acquisition, and growth.

The joint effort by UK-Nigeria Tech Hub and Google for Startups Africa will help promote digital inclusion and jointly support technology businesses run by women founders.

To commemorate International Women’s Day in March, the two organisations co-hosted an event in Lagos, on Friday, bringing together women founders, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders.

The event aims to help women founders understand the technology funding landscape and position themselves to secure funding for their startups.

Country Director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Justina Oha said, “We are thrilled to announce our collaboration with Google for Startups, which comes at a time when the world is celebrating International Women’s Day.

“This partnership is a testament to our commitment to supporting women founders and helping them reach their full potential. Partnerships like this are one of the great ways that stakeholders can come together to advance Nigeria’s tech ecosystem at an accelerated pace.”

Head of Startup Ecosystem Google Africa, Folarin Aiyegbusi speaking on the collaboration, said: “We are excited to partner with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub to empower women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. This collaboration is a unique opportunity to provide women founders with the support and resources they need to scale their businesses and contribute to the growth of Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

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“At Google for Startups, we are committed to supporting startups and entrepreneurs around the world, and we believe that empowering women founders is key to building a more diverse and inclusive tech industry.”

 

 

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