Stakeholders have backed the quest for technology banks to provide funding for the technology industry in Nigeria urging the Nigerian Government to facilitate the establishment of Technology Banks across the country.
The banks when established would focused on providing flexible credit financial services to empower Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to attain United Nations’ (UN) requirements for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The stakeholders made the call in a communiqué issued at the end of the 2018 edition of the e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibition and Awards by organized the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital city with the theme: “Promoting a Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies through Effective Regulations’’.
The conference which was declared opened by President Muhammadu Buhari called on NITDA, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, to promote the development of a National Blockchain Technology Strategy, draft relevant laws and regulations including regulations on the use of Blockchain Technology (BT) applications.
Participants in their recommendation urged NITDA to encourage states to implement the various digital inclusion policies of government and create massive awareness on the benefit of digital transformation adding that Government should work towards automating the Nigerian procurement processes to effectively curb corruption.
NITDA was also mandated to work with relevant regulatory agencies to ensure strict compliance to the new regulatory instruments on the registration and certification process for OEMs developed by the Agency.
It is also challenged to use its regulatory instruments to ensure the full implementation of the Nigerian ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision that focuses on the development of Digital Infrastructure, Education Reform, Skills Development and Research and Development as well as supporting the ecosystem.
According to the mandate give NITDA relevant stakeholders that failed to clears all ICT projects should be reported to the Presidency for appropriate sanctions adding that all (ministries, department, agencies) MDAs should give preference to locally manufactured goods and services in their procurement of information technology services in line with the Executive Orders 003 and 005.
While commending NITDA on their good work of establishing incubation centres and hubs, the stakeholders advised the Agency to extend this initiative to tertiary institutions noting that it should collaborate with INEC to mandate all existing political parties in Nigeria to automate their membership registration process and database as it is crucial in ensuring effective elections.
“There is an urgent need to establish a standard digital directory for all SMEs products and services in English and basic local languages – using graphic symbols as applicable.
“Efforts should be made to facilitate capacity development in the adoption of emerging technologies, such as IoTs, Big Data, AI, in the Nigerian educational value-chain, through the provision of indigenous educational toolkits to support learning, teaching, research and administration”, the stakeholders noted.
Isaiah Erhiawarien, Lagos