NITDA Information Technology Hubs
Information Technology (IT) is increasingly recognised as the key enabler in promoting knowledge-based growth, creating jobs and providing access to information and knowledge for both developed and developing countries. Access to information and knowledge can stimulate economic growth by creating new products, increasing productivity and promoting new commercial and administrative methods. IT Hub is one of such ventures that help nations to achieve economic growth through innovation, and entrepreneurship.
IT Hub is a platform where Technology, Business, Innovation and Entrepreneurship are nurtured by building pools of both native and evolving talent and footloose IT professionals. IT Hubs are used in many countries worldwide as a tool to promote the development of both upstream and downstream IT components for economic development across all sectors.
NITDA had identified that there is a clear lack of adequate skilled manpower that will drive local content development and industrialization in the country.
To address and reduce those inhibiting factors, the use of IT Hubs to foster the further development of all sectors has become imperative. To achieve this and also support the primary responsibility of the agency which is regulation and promote the development of the IT sector, it established IT Hubs in strategic locations across the country. This is also seen as another strategic effort to attract and support stakeholders who are industry players toward the promotion of IT for industrialization. Through capacity development programmes at the centres, the country will overcome the shortage of skilled manpower and address the poor business and investment climate which increasingly hamper the growth of the IT sector.
Through the Hub, NITDA tends to provide the right enabling environment by putting in place, a combination of high quality infrastructure, support services. It is expected that the host communities and environs will leverage on the facilities available at the centres and create a full value chain across the IT sector ecosystem.
The Hubs are fully equipped with both networking and computing devices to support the complete state of the art Printed Circuit Boards (PBC) production machines. The centres are expected to develop competency for local production of PCB devices and other downstream components of the IT goods.
Through the use of the IT Hubs, Nigeria is poised to achieve some of the followings among others:
- Diversification of the nation’s economy through local production of IT tools and services.
- Development of strategic thrusts where Technology, Finance, and Human Resources, are going to be harnessed to create an enabling environment for the potential development of microelectronics, Software applications, and Entrepreneurship.
- Create a means of creating a stronger bond between Government, Academia and the private sector by focusing on the development of local talent through research and business ideation and promotion.
- To establish a well Structured IT Hub that will operate along the full IT value chain, from ideation to commercialization, and will be well positioned to help fulfill the expanding economic missions of the country.
- Each Hub will serve as a regional Hub for next-generation IT research and incubation projects, and will also capture value by commercializing IT products and services.
- As a long term objective, the Hub will create self-sustaining ecosystems that will expedite the development of an indigenous IT industry and help Nigeria transform herself into a knowledge-based society.
- Create a local supply for the IT Sector to meet the increasing demand for IT goods and services from both the public and private sectors.
- Generate a steady stream of suitably skilled graduates for companies in the IT Hub to meet the expected high demand for skilled manpower.