The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa has said that Nigeria is empowered digitally and thriving on innovation and inclusive economic growth through technology.
Inuwa made this remark at a workshop themed “Intel AI programme for Africa Deep-Tech startups, Ecosystem stakeholders” which was organised by Afrilabs and Intel in Abuja.
He said, “For us to succeed as a nation, there is a need for synergy, and we must strongly believe that the best solution emerges from collaborative efforts, harnessing diverse talents, expertise, and perspectives of the robust ecosystem for the advancement of the country.”
Inuwa noted that “our problem in Africa is about implementation processes,” adding that, “we need to have strong institutions to implement these policies and strategies for the realisation of our goals and objectives.”
He opined that there is a need to work together to build policies and regulations that will be beneficial and flexible to implement through proper coordination attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Speaking on NITDA’s commitment towards the implementation of diverse initiatives and policies, Inuwa stated that it has attracted 6 African countries and other government institutions to visit and understudy for replication to change the conventional way of doing things.
Providing insights into NITDA’s strategic direction, Inuwa mentioned the agency’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024-2027) 2.0, structured around eight pillars.
Speaking earlier, the Chief Operating Officer of Afrilabs, Mr. Ajibola Odukoya stated that driving the innovation economy in Africa by the power of the communities will bring about the cultivation of high-potential entrepreneurs who will become catalysts for economic growth and social development in Africa.
The workshop is aimed at finding solutions to research carried out on evaluating the deep tech ecosystem in Africa and lacks tailored support for the growth of startups in the sector.
Odukoya added that Artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that will bridge Africa and the world and needs to consider Africa towards building AI frameworks and libraries to showcase African perspectives and zeal in problem-solving.
