NITDA, NSIA talk up collaboration to boost investment in start-ups

Saviour Adugba

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Development Authority (NSIA) are set to partner in the area of start–ups investment in a quest to boost job creation and wealth development in Nigeria, Business A.M. can confirm.

The partnership was brought to the fore when Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director-general of NITDA, led a team of management staff to pay a courtesy visit to the management of the NSIA.

The two agencies discussed areas of possible collaborations that will help bring about the provision of digital infrastructure which will in turn help engender the digital economy policy of the federal government of Nigeria.

Speaking during the courtesy visit, Abdullahi noted that the world’s most powerful economies are being driven by information and communications technology (ICT), and also said that Nigeria needs a massive investment in its technology sector to help bring about developmental changes to the country.

He emphasised the importance of content localisation and how it helps stimulate the IT industry, noting that localisation is the way to go instead of importing content from other countries, especially given the fact that Nigeria boasts of a young and vibrant population.

He said, “At NITDA, we have initiated number of projects during lockdown that will go along the pandemic; COVID19 Innovation Challenge is one of them. Young innovators were converged and came up with technology solution that cushioned the effect of the COVID19.

“Furthermore, our National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), an initiative to digitise our farming processes is yielding a positive result. We have trained and equipped over 140 Nigerians who are already benefiting from the scheme. We are currently working to escalate it to every part of the country. If we work collectively, we can achieve a lot.”

He further noted that he visited with his team to mainly seek collaboration with NSIA in the area of local content development investments.

Uche Orji, managing director of NSIA, in his response, described the visit by the NITDA team as “historic”, thanking the NITDA management team for finding time to visit him.

He stated that the two federal agencies will collaborate in key areas to stimulate activities in Nigeria’s economy. He also highlighted the importance of ICT, referencing the sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic products (GDP).

“Our mission is to play a leading role in driving sustained economic development for the benefit of all Nigerians. We want to create economic stability in the country and IT is a great way to achieve that,” he said.