In a move towards maximizing opportunities open through the growth of Information Communication Technology in Imo state, Governor Emeka Ihedioha has called on the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and other private sector-driven techpreneur to partner with him.
According to the governor, the state is set to build a new digital culture towards meeting the challenges of the present and further create wealth.
The Governor who was represented by the state’s deputy governor, Engr. Gerald Irona in a two-day Research and innovation forum hosted by the NCC for tech entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the southEast, Nigeria at Protea hotel, Owerri.
The governor quipped that the strong believe by his administration on the capacity to recreate strong economic base leveraging on technology spurred him into the establishment of Ministry of Technology Development, funding ICT training programs for different categories of persons, and instituting the digitization of the State’s tax and revenue collection processes. He maintained that the state desires a very close partnership with the NCC to expand the vision for ICT and Innovation hub in the state.
In a keynote paper by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta who was represented by Haru Alhassan, NCC’s Director of New Media and Information Security, Danbatta affirmed the Commission’s commitment to collaborate with stakeholders in the country to deepen the impact of ICT research, innovation, and utilization.
Danbatta noted that the Commission “in its effort to encourage tech entrepreneurship and innovation in the ICT sector, has embarked on visitation to various tech startups across the six geopolitical zones to assess their development and challenges.”
The EVC said NCC is ready to assist the various innovation hubs with the appropriate interventions to ease their operations, stressing that the deliberations at the Forum will improve collaborative efforts and actions designed by governments and the NCC to accelerate innovation and accentuate digital economy in Nigeria.
Ephraim Nwokonneya, Director, Research and Development (DRD) at NCC underscored Danbatta’s remark that the Forum theme, “Developing Nigeria’s Tech Ecosystem: The Imperatives for Improving Local Content” was selected to emphasize the commitment of NCC to leverage local content in the nation’s effort to achieve concrete digital transformation.
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The DRD also said NCC’s initiatives in this regard will unlock the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of the young people, boost local content in the ICT sector and enhance wealth creation, facilitate the introduction of new value-added services that will improve quality of consumer experience, and support President Buhari’s agenda to reduce poverty in Nigeria.
In a presentation by Dr. Chris Uwaje, a renown ICT Professional declares that the nation is set to concretely harness opportunities lurking in ICT and digital economy by improving local content participation, see innovation hubs as fulcrum of local content, ensure legislative and government support for tech initiatives, and nudge young people to be globally competitive.
Dr. Fidelis Onah, a former Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at NCC and now a tech entrepreneur, who made a presentation on the “Imperatives of e-governance in the Emerging Digital Economy”, allayed the fears of the public about people losing jobs as a result of tech innovations.
He stated that whereas some job losses may be recorded but, on the long run much more jobs would be created in the increasingly digital economy. He called on the stakeholders to show readiness by designing and reviewing existing policies to enable Nigeria to take advantage of the opportunities within the expanding digital culture as negligence would spell doom.
The participants later went into a panel discussion on the ways to boost activities of techpreneurs in the region and Nigeria.
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