Digital entrepreneurship has been described as a crucial element necessary in ensuring a sustainable digital economy because, through innovations in technology, people have been able to shop and sell products online much faster, making life easier.
The Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi made the case while delivering a keynote address at a one-day action-oriented roundtable/interface organised by Civil Society Groups for Good Governance with the theme “Maximizing Potentials of Digital Entrepreneurship for Youth Empowerment and Self Reliance”, in Abuja.
Speaking on the topic, “Fast-tracking Digital Revolution in Nigeria through the Mandate of NITDA”, Abdullahi who was represented by his Special Assistant (Digital Transformation) Dr Aminu Lawal, stated that the rapid evolution of digital technology has made it possible for people to access information and has, in turn, led to tremendous efficiency and effectiveness in the work environment.
Abdullahi stated that NITDA has various initiatives that are geared towards digital entrepreneurship, citing Digital States Initiatives Programmes as an example.
He said NITDA has trained over 6000 youths on digital marketing, content creation, branding, and many more, adding that other pieces of training were undertaken, including training people living with disabilities, women in ICT, and training artisans on mobile phone repairs which were all aimed at teaching them how to derive economic value from digital technologies.
He noted that in order to carry out its mandates and objectives as stipulated by the NITDA Act 2007, the Agency is guided by its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) 2021 – 2024, which is in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria.
The SRAP, according to the DG, is anchored on seven pillars with their respective goals and objectives namely, Developmental Regulation; Digital Literacy and Skills; Digital Transformation; Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Cybersecurity; Emerging Technologies and Promotion of Indigenous Content.
The DG noted the level of progress that has been made towards the realisation of the objectives and targets set in the roadmap that include; issuance of several IT developmental regulations and guidelines among which are the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR); Guidelines for the Management of Personal Data by Public Institutions in Nigeria; Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) among others.
.Abdullahi added that the digital revolution has been characterized by the emergence and evolution of technologies such as computers, mobile phones, the World Wide Web, online social networking, virtual communities, and many more.
He opined that these changes have brought many benefits and have affected the way people consume and use information.
He averred that digital revolution has led to digitalization or digital transformation of processes as well as the incorporation of Artificial Intelligence in virtually all aspects of our lives, which is also accelerating at a high pace.“One thing is certain, there is no turning back now.
Digital technologies will continue to grow and we will witness more technology disruptions in the future”, he concluded.
