Digital Economies: NITDA advocates human, infrastructural development to unlock Africa’s potential

*Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency, urges industry experts and start-ups within the technology ecosystem to collaborate with the government to formulate robust regulations to advance human and infrastructural development towards unlocking Africa’s great potential

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has urged industry experts and start-ups within the technology ecosystem to work closely with the government in co-creating robust regulations to advance human and infrastructural development towards unlocking Africa’s great potential.

ConsumerConnect reports the country’s Information Technology (IT) sector regulatory agency emphasised vital role of collaboration between governments and the private sector to unlock patent local capital on the African continent, observing that Africa’s greatest asset in the tech ecosystem is its human capital.

Malam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE, Director-General of NITDA, made these submissions at the second edition of the annual Moonshot Tech Conference 2024, which brought together the brightest minds in the African tech space held at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

Speaking as a panelist at the conference that brought together participants to network, collaborate, and share insights, Inuwa spoke on the topic, “Building Digital Economies for the World: How African Countries Are Shaping their Tech Economies to Compete Across the Continent and Globally”.

On balancing innovation and regulation for impactful solutions

The Director-General of NITDA highlighted the importance of balancing innovation and regulation, explaining that innovation involves turning ideas into impactful solutions. However, he noted that while innovation thrives on creativity, regulation must act as a guardrail to ensure stability.

Inuwa also stated: “At NITDA, we developed an intelligent regulatory framework that will help us understand the terrain before placing regulations.

“A regulation that will make us intelligent, understand what you are trying build, understand the value you are bringing to the market and dynamic because we need to create that room for people to navigate.”

He equally touched on the vital role of collaboration between governments and the private sector to unlock patient local capital on the continent, while pointing out that Africa’s greatest asset in the tech ecosystem is its human capital.

The NITDA Chief said: “According to the World Bank report, by the year 2030, there would be 85 million talent deficits globally which if left unharnessed, could lead to $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual value.

How to strengthen Africa’s digital economy, by Inuwa

“So, in Africa, looking at our young population, we can harness that population and position ourselves to become the global talent factory to bridge this gap deficit.”

Inuwa further stressed the need for governments to enlighten people on the potential of the technology ecosystem not just for solving local problems but global challenges.

In Nigeria, he explained, the Nigeria Startup Act was co-created with the tech ecosystem with a focus to encourage venture capital, registration of innovation hubs and forming a council to promote local capital investments.

Advocating a collective action to strengthen Africa’s digital economy, Inuwa averred that “we need to build the digital infrastructure that will allow us to share content within Africa and foster data flow across borders.”

Other co-panellists who shared valuable insights alongside the DG were the CEO, Ghana Chamber of Technology, Dr. Augustina Odame, the Chief Advisor Technology, Sierra Leone, David Manley and the Director of Innovation, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Mauritania, Marieme Kane.