The newly inaugurated President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), James Agada, has unveiled an ambitious agenda to reposition Nigeria’s indigenous software industry, increase local patronage and strengthen the capacity of Nigerian software companies to compete globally.
Speaking at the inauguration of ISPON’s National Executive Council in Lagos, Agada said Nigeria has a long and largely undocumented history of software innovation, with local engineers and developers having contributed to major technological breakthroughs in banking, telecommunications, payments and enterprise computing.
He noted that Nigerians pioneered several notable developments, including what he described as arguably the first banking application built on a relational database, early solutions for storing binary large objects in relational databases, the deployment of an offline ATM card system and a major card personalisation project executed locally.
“Nigerians built the first microprocessor-based telephone switching system and wrote the code here on our soil,” Agada said, adding that Nigerian professionals today operate globally across sectors ranging from payments and gaming to enterprise applications, digital government and artificial intelligence.
However, he expressed concern that many of these achievements and the people behind them have not been adequately recognised or documented.
To address this, Agada announced that ISPON will establish a National Software Industry Registry within the next six months. The registry, he said, will document the achievements, companies, products and practitioners that make up Nigeria’s software ecosystem.
“We will make our industry visible,” he declared.
Agada also raised concerns about the relatively low contribution of the software sector to Nigeria’s economy despite its significant workforce and growing number of companies.
He observed that while the sector is reputed to employ more than one million people directly and indirectly, and more than 100,000 registered companies operate in the space, recent National Bureau of Statistics figures indicate that its contribution to national GDP remains below 0.2 per cent.
He suggested that the figures could reflect undercounting, but also warned that a significant amount of value generated from software consumed in Nigeria may ultimately accrue to foreign economies through software licences, subscriptions, support and service fees.
According to Agada, ISPON’s relatively small membership base—fewer than 500 corporate members and about 10,000 individual members—also reflects a deeper structural challenge facing the industry.
He described the situation as a “multi-headed monster” in which Nigerian software companies struggle to access opportunities, limited opportunities reduce patronage and visibility, and the resulting lack of patronage further constrains industry growth.
According to media reports, Agada said his administration would tackle the challenge through stronger advocacy, partnerships and capacity development.
“We will ensure visibility through our Software Industry Registry. We will build robust partnerships and advocate fiercely across all economic sectors and within government,” he said.
He stressed that technology alone would not be sufficient to build globally competitive Nigerian software companies. Practitioners must also acquire stronger business, organisational and financial capabilities.
As part of this strategy, ISPON will partner with the AUSSO Leadership Academy from November on its Business Masterclass series to provide members with practical training and guided strategies for business expansion.
The institute has also established an Industry Partnership and Enterprise Growth Committee to strengthen the commercial capacity of software companies, while its Verification and Standards Committee will work with the Education Committee to improve professional standards and technological capabilities across the sector.
Also speaking at the event, ISPON co-founder and Fellow, Chris Uwaje, said the new leadership must focus on strategic priorities including national software policy, talent development and stronger partnerships with universities, bootcamps and industry.
Uwaje said ISPON’s ambition should be to help create a million-strong, globally certified software workforce.
He proposed converting up to 50 per cent of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members into trusted software developers and systems analysts who could be deployed across critical sectors of the economy.
“Today, the challenges before us invite us to transform Software Policy, scale apprenticeships and align curriculum with what the market actually needs—both locally and internationally,” Uwaje said.
He further called for greater recognition of ISPON as a technical partner in the formulation of national digital policies and legislation.
According to him, the institute should have a formal role in shaping laws and policies covering artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data and digital trade.
“ISPON will provide empirical technical evidence, not just opinions,” he said.
The new ISPON leadership is therefore positioning the institute not merely as a professional association, but as a catalyst for greater visibility, stronger local patronage, improved business capacity and a more competitive Nigerian software industry.
