Business Briefs
ISA Ibrahim Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has stressed the need for partnerships and collaboration among industry stakeholders, in order to achieve Nigeria’s digital economy dream faster than imagined.
Pantami gave the advice during this year’s National Information Technology Merit Awards, NITMA, organised by the Nigeria Computer Society, NCS, the umbrella body of all Information Technology professionals and interest groups, which held recently in Lagos. He said the country’s digital transformation agenda, using digital tools, cuts across all sectors of the Nigerian economy and that no sector can claim monopoly of it and no particular sector can achieve it alone without collaboration with other sectors.
“So there is need for partnerships between government and the private sector, and among the private sector players, to achieve digital transformation much faster. The effect of COVID-19 has forced technology solution developers to come up with innovative ideas and solutions to cushion the effect and to help Nigeria achieve her digital transformation agenda, so collaboration becomes key.
“Government on its part is doing everything possible to ensure hitch-free digital transformation agenda, through the launch of various initiatives like the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy, which the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is currently implementing,” Pantami said, adding that Nigeria must tap from the global digital economy policy that is worth over $11 trillion, through collaboration.
On his part, Adesola Kazeem Adeduntan, managing director, First Bank, who chaired the award event, said he could attest to the fact that the bank owed its survival largely to Information Technology, IT, stressing that technology, which is driven by professionals who are largely from NCS, no doubt, has enhanced businesses in the financial sector and across other sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“Therefore, the idea of NCS to award Nigerians who have contributed immensely to the growth of IT development in the country is commendable. First Bank will continue to leverage technology to better serve the large population of its customers and we have initiated various ideas, using technology to move millions of Nigerians to our online activities. We will continue to use technology to offer seamless services to our growing customer base,” he said.
– Dec. 4, 2020 @ 15:27 GMT |
Tags: Stakeholders’ collaboration key to attaining digital economy – Pantami
