By Kinyiose Nwabuokei
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE, has reiterated Africa’s immense potential to be a frontrunner in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Speaking at the second edition of Global Tech Africa Conference, held in Lagos, Inuwa stated that African continent has a youthful demography, noting that over 60% of Africa’s population is under 25, presenting a vast market for digital products and services.
According to the DG, African continent, endowed with a burgeoning youth population, rich natural resources, and a growing digital market, is uniquely positioned to harness the transformative power of technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and the Internet of Things.
Reflecting on Africa’s historical context, Inuwa said, “We lost out during the first, second, and third industrial revolutions because we were exploited. But for the fourth industrial revolution, Africa has a lot to offer especially being the single largest free trade market, with almost 1.5 billion people.”
He outlined several critical areas for development, including creating a favorable regulatory environment, developing infrastructure, leveraging Africa’s large youthful market, and fostering an innovation and technology ecosystem. These efforts, he noted, are essential for achieving global collaboration and local transformation.
While pointing Nigerian government’s commitment to positioning the continent as a leader in the digital economy, the DG said, “Our President, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mandated our Minister to accelerate the diversification of Nigeria’s economy by enhancing productivity in critical sectors through technological innovation.”
“The President is big and loud on inclusivity and diversification and is committed to transforming our economy to deliver sustained and inclusive growth,” he remarked.
Inuwa also explained NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2.0), focusing on eight pillars designed to transform Nigeria into a digitally empowered nation. The first pillar aims to foster digital literacy and cultivate talent, with ambitious targets to achieve 95% digital literacy by 2030 and 70% by 2027.
The second pillar focuses on building talent within the country to develop digital offerings. “We need to build our proficiency in-country and develop our digital offerings in Nigeria. We have identified six emerging technologies which we are going to invest richly in: AI, IoT, UVV, blockchain, robotics, and additive manufacturing,” the DG said.
“Another critical area is strengthening policy implementation and the legal framework to support innovation. Our approach to regulation is a developmental regulation, one that unlocks opportunities rather than stifles innovation. We look at anything that can influence business, societal, or market behaviour as a regulatory instrument to activate activities within the ecosystem.”
“Promoting inclusive access to digital infrastructure and services is also a priority. We need to connect the unconnected and invest in underserved communities. In the digital era, everyone needs to be part of it to benefit and be digitally visible.”
“Enhancing cybersecurity and building digital trust are paramount. We need to build confidence in our citizens and improve our cyber resilience to protect our digital space,” he said.
He added that, “Nurturing an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem is another key focus. “We need platforms where we can identify startups, help them incubate and accelerate, and provide access to networks and funding. We are implementing initiatives like the Nigerian startup act, which provides a legal framework for startups to access incentives and funding.”
“Forging strategic partnerships and collaboration is essential for success. No one succeeds in isolation. We need to bring everyone on board, including academia, innovators, corporate organizations, and venture capitalists, to work together as an ecosystem.”
“The final pillar is internal transformation within NITDA and other government agencies. “We are transforming the agency, building skill sets, and cultivating the mindset. We use NITDA as a platform to experiment with emerging technologies, automating our processes, and using AI to improve decision-making,” he concluded.