Pantami in US, engages SpaceX, World Bank, Google to strengthen Nigeria Digital Economy

*The Nigerian Communications Commission stresses the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under the leadership of Minister (Prof.) Isa Ali Pantami is committed to implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy to ensure the Nigeria Digital Economy remains a leading light both in Africa and worldwide

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As part of efforts at strengthening partnerships for the development of Nigeria’s Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, has held a series of meetings with the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) at its Headquarters in Hawthorne, California, the World Bank Headquarters, and Google Corporation, all in the United States (US).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Sunday, December 18, 2022, disclosed the meetings with the World Bank and Google were held on the sidelines of the US-Africa Leaders’ Forum (USALF).

ConsumerConnect reports the USALF took place in Washington, D.C., while the visit to SpaceX was a follow up to the events at the Forum in the US.

Mr. Reuben Muoka, Director of Public Affairs at NCC, stated that Samuel Chad Gibbs IV, Vice-President of Business Operations, received Prof. Pantami at SpaceX on behalf of Elon Musk, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.

The telecoms regulatory Commission said both parties discussed, during the visit, how Space X could expand its presence in Nigeria, following the company’s entry into the West African country’s market through the Starlink Broadband service.

Outsourcing some Space X workforce to Nigerians

The NCC also noted Minister for Communications and Digital Economy urged the SpaceX team to consider sourcing some of its engineers from Nigeria’s digital talent pool.

According to the Commission, Pantami and his team were given a personalised tour of the SpaceX Rocket Manufacturing Facility, Starlink Assembly Line, and Product Development Facility during the visit.

The Minister as well witnessed the live SpaceX rocket launch of 2 telecoms satellites into orbit.

“On the invitation of the World Bank Group, the Honourable Minister had a meeting with top officials of the Bank, including Vyjayanti Desai, the Practice Manager for the World Bank’s Identification for Development (ID4D) and Digitising Government to Person Payments (G2Px) Programmes,” said the NCC.

It is further noted that Franz Drees-Gross, Director of Infrastructure, World Bank West African Region and Michel Rogy, World Bank’s Digital Development Practice Manager for Africa and the Middle East attended the meeting.

Wold Bank’s commendation for Minister

In a related development, the telecoms regulator stated that the World Bank team commended the Minister for his great leadership, which has led to significant development in Nigeria’s digital economy sector.

The Commission said meeting also discussed how the Bank could further partner with the country, to strengthen the digital economy ecosystem in areas, such as infrastructure, skilling, cybersecurity, and digital identity.

Besides, Prof. Pantami held a meeting with Mr. Karan Bhatia, Vice-President, Government Affairs, and Public Policy at Google.

Bhatia was full of praise for the Honourable Minister for the significant progress that has been made in the digital transformation of the Nigerian economy, stated the Commission.

He also lauded Pantami for Nigeria Startup Act, noting the potential of the legislation to serve as a catalyst for rapid development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria and other parts of Africa.

The NCC said the Google Vice-President also discussed the company’s growing focus on Africa and looks forward to expanding partnerships with Nigeria in areas such as skilling, cybersecurity, and cloud computing, among others.

The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, under Prof. Pantami’s leadership, remains committed to implementing the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) in order to ensure that Nigeria’s digital economy remains a leading light, both in Africa and across the globe, said the Commission.