NITDA, Stakeholders Approved Communiqué At 2022 Digital Nigeria Conference

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in collaboration with all the Agencies/ Parastatals under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy as well as other critical stakeholders in the IT sector, organized the 2022 edition of the Digital Nigeria International Conference, Exhibition and Awards from the 25th through 27th October 2022 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja with a carefully and timely chosen theme “Digital Transformation: A Path to Sustainable Digital Economy”.

At the end of the 2022 Digital Nigeria International Conference, Exhibition and Awards, a communique was adopted thus:

1. The conference provides a platform to brainstorm on contemporary issues in ICT and how ICT can be leveraged for sustainable national development. It had in attendance national leaders, ICT experts, public and private sector CEOs, solution providers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and other relevant stakeholders in the Digital Economy sector.
2. Eminent dignitaries that attended the conference included the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), FCIIS, FNCS, FBCS, FIIM – Chief Host/Chief Convener; Honourable Minister of Information and Culture – Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Representatives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMCDE), Dr Alo Nwankwo, the Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity – Senator Yakubu Useni, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Gambia – Ousman A. Bah, Secretary General, Digital Cooperation Organization – Deemah Yahya Alyahya.

Chairmen of the Governing Board of agencies under the supervision of the FMCDE that were in attendance included Prof. Adeolu Akande, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Sa’idu Abubakar, NITDA, Barr. Maimuna Yaya Abubakar, Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Architect Yusuf Kazaure, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat), Prof. Usman A. El-Nafaty National Identity Commission (NIMC).

4. Heads of agencies in the Communications and Digital Economy sector were also in attendance. The Director General, NIMC, Engr Aliyu A. Aziz Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT, Dr Abimbola Alale, Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone Limited Prof. Mohammed Bello Abubakar, National Commissioner, NDPB, Dr Vincent Olatunji and Directors, Federal Ministries and NITDA.
5. Members of the Academia, and Presidents of ICT-related professional bodies such as the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) with CEOs from private organizations are also in attendance.
6. In this year’s edition, 18 renowned foreign professionals from the global community were invited and actively participated in the conference (onsite and online). Their participation added much value to the conference especially its impact level as participants drew from their experiences, expertise, knowledge transfers mechanisms and solutions to a wide range of topical issues that included general global best practices and specific Nigerian cases.
7. The Opening speech and program highlight were delivered by the event host and the DG/CEO of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi CCIE. Goodwill messages were delivered by the Honourable Minister of Information and Culture, the Chairman Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, and the Managing Director Galaxy Backbone Limited.
8. During the opening ceremony (day one), the keynote speech and remarks were delivered by Prof. Isa Ali Pantami FCIIS, FBCS, FNCS, the Nigerian Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, while keynote messages were delivered by Hon. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Gambia – H.E Mr Ousman A. Bah, Secretary General of the Digital Cooperation Organization – Deemah Yahya and CEO  and one of the world’s top Bitcoin and blockchain advocates, Jimmy Nguyen who equally made a rich presentation on Blockchain for All.
9. The three-day conference had its second and third days dedicated to Blockchain Summit and Startup & Innovation Ecosystem Day respectively. Discussions were focused on sub-themes such as Digital Transformation, Data Protection and National Security, Emerging Technologies, Digital Inclusion, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
10. The conference consisted of seven (7) Plenary Sessions and 10-panel sessions. It featured paper presentations, panel discussions, fireside charts, startup pitch decks, exhibitions, and award presentations.
11. One of the highlights of the Conference was the unveiling of the book “Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami: Advancing Nigeria’s Drive Towards a Digital Economy” written by Mr Obiora Ezike.
12. The conference was widely considered resourceful and a huge success.
13. The following observations were made from the conference:
14. There is a need to strengthen the collaboration of all relevant stakeholders and ensure that substantial funding is provided to unlock innovation
15. There is a need to provide tax holidays and reduce multiple taxations for innovators;

iii. Essential infrastructure for digital devices and internet connectivity access is insufficient; iv. There is a deficiency of funding and access to grants for startups;

1. There is a lack of awareness among startups on intellectual property protection, patent, and copyright;

. There is a lack of improved cybersecurity laws required to protect intellectual property;

vii. Institutions of learning are enjoined to review existing curricula to include entrepreneurship and   hands-on skills required for innovation;

viii. There is a lack of flexible, technology-neutral and goal-oriented policies to support and encourage   startups, competition and market dynamics; and

1. There is a lack of established platforms required for harvesting talents and enhancing the ideation process.
2. The aggregated views from the conference also noted the following as advantages to the Nigerian digital economy:
3. The citizenry is aware of Federal Government’s efforts towards providing essential digital transformation building blocks such as infrastructure, policies, regulatory frameworks, digital skills, etc.;
4. The Nigerian startup ecosystem is relatively thriving, positioned as a leading player in Africa. The country is ranked 61st in the global tech ecosystem;

iii. Adoption of blockchain has high possibilities to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars of   revenue and will greatly impact the Digital Economy in Nigeria;

1. Regulations are indispensable to the proper functioning of economies and the country at large which are pertinent in promoting innovations and protecting consumers. As such, the current   policies and regulations should be periodically reviewed to ensure government interventions are   at par with innovation requirements;
2. The success made with the Nigeria Startup Act should be sustained and its programmes should be implemented in ways that are beneficial to startups, and citizens;
3. There is an upswing in blockchain adoption, especially in the private sector and Nigerian startups can create more value with the possibilities of blockchain technology;

vii. Multi stakeholders approach and working collaboratively across sectors is required to achieve   inclusive growth in the digital economy;

viii. There is a huge digital divide which informs deliberate measures for closing the digital gap in the   unserved and underserved areas to prevent rural-urban migration and ensure inclusivity;

1. Effective regulation that recognizes risks and opportunities is required in Nigeria for the mass adoption of blockchain technology in different sectors and aspect of life;
2. Economic and human capital development should be a priority for the government and citizens must be equipped with the skills required to take advantage of the digital economy; and
3. The stakeholders also recommended that:
4. NIMC and NITDA should work on ensuring the authenticity, integrity and confidentiality of the national identity system through the application of blockchain Adoption technology;
5. Intellectual Property laws and rights management which includes copyright, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets should be introduced into the virtual asset space;

iii. Sandboxes should be deployed for testing innovations;

1. Government should raise public awareness of digital currency (e-Naira) and provide incentives friendly policies as part of migration plans to eNaira;
2. The Federal Government should mandate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make the eNaira API available for fintech companies to integrate eNaira into more platforms and applications;
3. Stakeholders’ engagements should be adopted and used to develop an interoperability framework to drive the adoption of e-Naira as a means to enable players to use, reuse, push, and pull all it takes to participate;

vii. The reduction of organizational behaviour, bureaucracy and bottleneck and eNaira sign-up   should be of high priority;

viii. The CBN should impose stringent sanctions on conventional banks to ensure that they support   the e-Naira;

1. Government should launch Regulatory frameworks that ensure the inclusivity of the startup ecosystem;
2. Investment in human capital development and process transparency should be increased as open collaboration will create a lot of opportunities;
3. Government should foster more investment in infrastructure and enabling environment to support blockchain adoption;

xii. Appreciating the market and creating developmental regulations tailored to the ecosystem is salient.

15. The participants also advocated for the following: i. All formal post-secondary education, including public and private universities, colleges, technical training institutes, and vocational schools should be adequately equipped with digital infrastructure to parade sound talents that meet the local and global requirements, ii. Organizations should prioritize talent retention through appropriate incentives to minimize talent migration;

iii. Startups should consider the non-diluting type of funding and ensure they have solutions that   address challenges and create value for society;

1. An enabling environment for early-stage funding is required and there is a need to ensure risk profiles are well documented for capital efficiency;
2. Increase public and private partnerships opportunities to scale and bolster existing startups for domestic and international markets;
3. The stakeholders also recommended that:

1. NIMC and NITDA should work on ensuring the authenticity, integrity and confidentiality of the national identity system through the application of blockchain Adoption technology; ii. Intellectual Property laws and rights management which includes copyright, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets should be introduced into the virtual asset space; iii. Sandboxes should be deployed for testing innovations;

1. Government should raise public awareness of digital currency (e-Naira) and provide incentives friendly policies as part of migration plans to eNaira;

iii. The Federal Government should mandate the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make the eNaira API available for fintech companies to integrate eNaira into more platforms and applications;

Stakeholders’ engagements should be adopted and used to develop an interoperability framework to drive the adoption of e-Naira as a means to enable players to use, reuse, push, and pull all it takes to participate;

vii. The reduction of organizational behaviour, bureaucracy and bottleneck and eNaira sign-up   should be of high priority;

viii. The CBN should impose stringent sanctions on conventional banks to ensure that they support   the e-Naira;

1. Government should launch Regulatory frameworks that ensure the inclusivity of the startup   ecosystem;
2. Investment in human capital development and process transparency should be increased as open collaboration will create a lot of opportunities;
3. Government should foster more investment in infrastructure and enabling environment to support blockchain adoption;

xii. Government should increase awareness of inherent risks associated with blockchain and other   digital technologies to avoid attacks;

xiii. Startups should learn how to properly document their innovations, effectively communicate and   present their solutions to prospective investors for funding;

xiv. Aggressive and situational awareness of blockchain technology adoption should be given priority   by the government;

1. The government should set up non-dilutive incubator and accelerator programs to support innovators in the ideation process; xvi. The new Startup Act (policies) should be implemented to encourage startups in the innovation   lifecycle;

xvii. Increased collaboration and value creation through stakeholder synergy should be      encouraged;

xviii. Startups should be coached and encouraged to develop solutions that solve real-world problems and societal demands for sustainable value creation and growth; xix.  Benefactors, designers and founders should adopt a structural mindset for their digital-enabled   businesses to succeed and endeavour to work collaboratively with a technical professional;

1. Startups should have a global-orientated mindset to meet the demands of the international market;

xxi. Government should initiate a dedicated pool of funds to support start-ups and as well facilitate   access to grants, mentorship and coaching;

xxii. The talent deficit gap should be bridged by building talents in their areas of core interest;      xxiii. Governments at all levels should deepen their support for women start-ups through enterprising development programs due to their cultural marginalization and gender sensitivity; and

xxiv. The government should provide an enabling environment for creating local content ICT that can be accessed with local currency to mitigate capital flight and struggle for foreign currency.

xxv. An Interdisciplinary Technical Working Group should be set up to develop a sustainable model for hosting Digital Nigeria International Conference.

xxvi. The scope and coverage of the conference should be expanded to include locations such as Lagos.

xxvii. Partnering with the national and international stakeholders’ organizers of tech expo to institutionalize an enduring and globally recognized Digital tech exhibition.   xxviii. Leveraging on the current relationship with ecosystem to institute an enduring platform for   future engagement in the management and organizing such international conference

xxix. Registering and patenting the Digital Nigeria trademark as an entity on its own is required.

17. Conclusions

With the huge success achieved in the 2022 Digital Nigeria International Conference, the   NITDA board, management and entire staff wish to express their profound gratitude to the dignitaries, the invited guests, ICT industry stakeholders and participants for their contributions. The NITDA, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, will work to ensure the implementation of the recommendations for a better digital Nigeria.