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ISA Pantami, minister of communication and digital economy, has projected that Nigeria’s economy would be 21 percent digital by 2021. He says that digitalisation is becoming the most adopted economy globally.
Speaking at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, CIBN, 2020 Graduates’ Induction and Prize Award’s Day, Pantami said the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the importance of the digital economy in the growth of any nation. He said COVID-19 has underscored the need to fast track digital transformation in Nigeria.
Pantami explained that digital economy drive is focused on four key areas – digital identification, broadband penetration, smartphones, and bank accounts. While stressing the need for professionals to develop more innovative digital tools and competencies, he noted that activities in the banking, customs, and ports sectors, including revenue collections were now digitised.
He noted that the ministry is working to ensure that indigenous digital solution providers and entrepreneurs get preference, as the current administration is committed to consuming what it produces. “The latest Quarter Two (Q2) 2020 report recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, showed that the Information and Communications Technology, ICT, sector contributed about to 17.83 percent to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, from 13.85 percent in the same period of 2019. Yet, the digital economy was not included in the disclosed figure. If the digital economy was added, it would have risen well above 45 percent to GDP,” he said.
– Sept. 11, 2020 @ 15:57 GMT |
Tags: Pantami projects 21% digital economy by 2021
