WorldStage Newsonline– The Federal Government has confirmed that its Social Investment Programme (SIP) which leverages on Information Communication Technology has benefited about nine million Nigerians.
President Muhammadu Buhari said at the opening ceremony of the 2018 e-Nigeria international conference and exhibition, organized by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), on Monday in Abuja that, “The success of this administration’s Social Investment Programme (SIP), tagged as the largest and most ambitious social safety net programme in our recent history relies heavily on the application of ICT.
“Components of the programme such as the N-Power, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP), the Home Grown School Feeding Programme (HGSFP) and the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) all leverage on ICT.
“This programme has so far benefited over 9 million Nigerians.”
The President added that NITDA, in collaboration with the National Social Investment Office (NSIO) is coordinating Federal Government’s initiative of establishing eight (8) Innovation Hubs, one in each of the six Geo-Political Zones and one each in Lagos and Abuja.
The purpose of establishing these hubs, according to President Buhari “is to facilitate digital capacity building for immediate employment, entrepreneurial skills development, and job and wealth creation.
“All these are aimed at promoting the digital economy in an era of disruptive technology through effective regulations.”
He therefore expressed hope that the conference will come up with innovative ideas, workable and implementable recommendations that would help and enhance government’s efforts at creating the enabling environment for the promotion of the digital economy in an era of disruptive technologies, considering the nations peculiarities.
The three days event with the theme – “Promoting Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies through Effective Regulations” holding at the International Conference Centre, Abuja will end Wednesday.
In his welcome address, the Minister of Communications, Bar. Adebayo Shittu, disclosed that the various initiatives by the ministry has helped in fostering synergy and sustainable development in the ICT sector.
“I am happy to inform you that we have been able to achieve a broadband penetration of 23 per cent and we are not resting on our oars until we achieve our target of 30 per cent,” he said.
The Minister also disclosed that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) grew to $4 billion in 2018 from $3.2 billion on 2015.
According to him, “emerging disruptive technologies are also creating new industries and we can take advantage of this to further attract FDIs to the sector.”
He therefore urged participants to take advantage of the networking opportunities to forge strategic partnerships that will further enhance developments in the sector.
The Director General of NITDA, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, said to building a critical mass of ICT, Nigerians would develop the type of digital economy that can rival oil as the main stay of our economy.
He said: “Nigeria is also endowed with a ready pool of young “digital natives” that can support the process. Innovation is second nature to Nigerians and there are several stories of innovation across the globe that have the imprint of Nigerians.
“The Nigerian tech ecosystem has produced 3 companies valued for more than $100million, including the only African “unicorn” (Jumia), valued at over $1billion.
“Furthermore, of the $560million raised by African startups in 2017, Nigerian startups accounted for $114.6million of this amount. These investments and stories of innovation underscore the viability of the Nigerian startups and the capacity of Nigerians to conceive creative ideas.”
