THE National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, wants to help Nigeria reduce the N720 billion ($2 billion) it loses yearly to Information Technology, IT, importations into the country. Isa Pantami, director general, NITDA, said the country must stop being a consuming nation but a producing one.

At the 2017 Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, GITEX, in Dubai, United Arab Emirate, UAE, Pantami stressed that this would prevent dumping of various foreign technologies on the country. Even as the Nigerian lawmakers, participating at the event, disclosed their readiness to ensure that the start-ups, which are being presented for global pitch have reasonable years of tax holiday.

About 10 Nigerian tech start-ups are participating at this year’s GITEX, which is the 37th edition. The start-ups include Coudiora, Nicademia, Beat Drone, Accounteer, Dropque, MTK e-Learning Portal, My Padi, Ward Monitor, Tattara and Six Internet of Things, IoT. They are to compete with other tech start-ups from across the world to be able to win a $30,000 (about N10.8 million) investment towards developing their solution in a more commercially viable way.

This year’s GITEX, a five-day regional conference, opened on Sunday as the premier technology event in the Middle East, Asia and Africa , hosting 185, 000 visitors from more than 140 countries. According to NITDA DG, there is a need for Nigeria to promote local technology solutions developed by Nigerians with specific reference to the 10 start-ups in order to truly catapult Nigeria into becoming one of the countries to be reckoned with on the global ICT map.

Pantami said NITDA has realised that “developing our ICT ecosystem but for the indigenous IT companies and for start-up by offering them an enabling environment in terms of policy and laws to operate is one of the ways Nigeria can adopt to curb annual $2 billion (N720 billion) to capital flight.”

Explaining the seven areas NITDA is focusing on at this year’s IT exhibition towards developing the country’s ICT ecosystem, Pantami said the agency has come with seven agenda designed to develop Nigeria’s IT industry and curb the huge annual capital flight. “These include promoting IT regulations in Nigeria, IT development and promotions, striking partnership on how to better secure Nigerian cyberspace, capacity building, promotion of e-government in Nigeria, showcasing indigenous tech innovations as well as looking for investors, who will assist in supporting local development of Nigeria’s IT industry,” he said.

Pantami also added that NITDA is working with Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to ensure that the yearly estimated N37.8 billion wasted on frivolous ICT projects, especially when they abandon local IT companies and go abroad for their IT procurements, is curbed through enforcing NITDA Act that says all MDAs must get clearance from the agency for any IT project they want to embark upon to ensure those projects are implementable.

He said NITDA was focusing on mobilising global attention on the investment potential of Nigeria’s IT sector and promotion of local tech-entrepreneurs at this year’s GITEX 2017 at an African Investment Forum for all participants at the going GITEX on tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Abdul Fatai Buhari, chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and cyber security, and his counterparts in Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Onawo Muhammed Ogoshi, who joined the NITDA management to undertake a tour of the solutions being showcased by the 10 start-ups, said they were impressed by the solutions Nigeria is showcasing this year. “This is how Microsoft, Google, Facebook and several others of such IT companies started and as lawmakers, our mandate is to always enact laws that would support local innovations,” Senator Buhari said. – NITDA

– Oct 12, 2017 @ 13:22 GMT /