DAVID ADUGE-ANI ABUJA
The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged industry experts and start-ups within the technology ecosystem, to work closely with the government in co-creating robust regulations to advance human and infrastructural development towards unlocking Africa’s great potentials.
Inuwa made the call at the second edition of the annual Moonshot Tech Conference 2024, which brought together the brightest minds in the African tech space, held in Lagos.
Speaking as a panelist at the conference, which also brought together Africa’s tech ecosystem in person to network, collaborate and share insights, the DG highlighted the importance of balancing innovation and regulation, adding that innovation involves turning ideas into impactful solutions.
Inuwa, who spoke on the topic, “Building Digital Economies for the World: How African Countries are Shaping their Tech Economies to Compete Across the Continent and Globally”, noted, however, that while innovation thrives on creativity, regulation must act as a guardrail to ensure stability.
“At NITDA, we developed an intelligent regulatory framework that will help us understand the terrain before placing regulations.
A regulation that will make us intelligent, understand what you are trying build, understand the value you are bringing to the market and dynamic because we need to create that room for people to navigate,” he stated.
His argument touched on the vital role of collaboration between governments and the private sector to unlock patient local capital in the continent, while pointing out that Africa’s greatest asset in the tech ecosystem is its human capital.
“According to the World Bank report, by the year 2030, there would be 85 million talent deficits globally which if left unharnessed, could lead to $8.5 trillion in unrealised annual value.”
“So, in Africa, looking at our young population, we can harness that population and position ourselves to become the global talent factory to bridge this gap deficit,” he added.
The DG stressed the need for governments to enlighten people on the potential of the technology ecosystem, not just for solving local problems but global challenges.
He mentioned that in Nigeria, the Nigeria Startup Act was co-created with the tech ecosystem with a focus to encourage venture capital, registration of innovation hubs and forming a council to promote local capital investments.
While calling for a collective action to strengthen Africa’s digital economy, Inuwa said, “We need to build the digital infrastructure that will allow us to share content within Africa and foster data flow across borders.”
Other co-panellists who shared valuable insights alongside the DG were the CEO, Ghana Chamber of Technology, Dr Augustina Odame, the Chief Advisor Technology, Sierra Leone, David Manley and the Director of Innovation, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Mauritania, Marieme Kane.