Leading business and technology solutions firm, Verraki Partners, has called on the Nigerian government, working in collaboration with the private sector, to urgently develop and begin to execute a national technology agenda, that will be distinctly Nigerian and will improve our competitiveness in the global economy. Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the recently concluded 25th Nigeria Economic Summit, Senior Manager for Technology Application Services at Verraki, Olatunde Olajide who facilitated the summit’s Industry Breakfast Meeting on Information and Communications Technology, advocated the need for Nigeria to overturn its perceived unwelcome stereotype and emulate countries like Israel, China, Singapore and South Korea that have all articulated and implemented a national agenda which has in turn helped them to create specific niches, improve their reputation while fostering economic growth.
In his submission, though Nigeria boasts of Africa’s largest young population, bursting with entrepreneurial energy, tremendous resolve, resilience and creativity, the nation is yet to articulate a holistic agenda as a counternarrative to the damaging reports of fraud, corruption and unemployment. He asserts that this biased perspective has a negative impact on the country’s perception, creating a drawback to our ability to attract new investment and ultimately our future economic potential.
In pressing for a national ICT agenda, Olajide quoted “Following its release of an Artificial Intelligence Development Plan, China outlined AI as a national priority, expressed its commitment to building a domestic AI industry worth US$150 billion and leading AI globally by 2030. China has already introduced AI pilot programmes in hundreds of schools and training teachers to implement the new curricula throughout the country. Nigeria must define what its strategic ICT agenda is, in the global economy and work towards this”.
He continued “There is a lot Nigeria can do in a global economy; Nigeria is home to the leading hubs for entrepreneurship on the continent thanks to several strengths, including our resilient entrepreneurs, a growing number of engaging international investors, a huge population with increasing access to technology, a growing number of startup support organizations active in the ecosystem, over 84 million hectares of arable land with less than half cultivated for agriculture production, our creative industries especially music and Nollywood, a booming billion dollar film industry. We must harness these strengths to determine how best we can play in the global economy”.
Olajide also highlighted the importance of local content and skills in the country’s IT agenda and encouraged local enterprises and governments to patronize companies with Research &Development, Product Development and Manufacturing operations in Nigeria to help in developing natonal technology competence. “China, South Korea, Japan’s competencies were not built in a day. I remember people scorned Asian (Japan, South Korea and China) cars some decades ago. The path to development is an iterative process and we must encourage our local players so they can improve. Given the low national literacy level of 66%, we need to aggressively scale digital literacy training for teachers, students, and others while also establishing systems and structures for protection of contents and IP rights of our inventors and entrepreneurs”, he concluded.
The 25th edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit, a public-private dialogue held recently in Abuja and was supported by Verraki Partners. Since its inception, NESG has promoted its activities around six fundamental principles of the economy. It includes a commitment to a Free Market Economy, encouragement of Private Sector Investments, Creation of an Enabling Environment, Good Governance in the National Interest, Rule-Based Economy and the Establishment of Economic Foundation for Democracy.
Verraki is focused on implementing technology and business solutions designed inherently for Africa and fit for purpose, while curating business ventures that would contribute to unlocking new sources of growth across the continent. Led by foremost corporate professionals as well as former Accenture leadership in Nigeria, Verraki will apply its global expertise and local insights to partner with enterprises and governments to accelerate the development and transformation of Africa by providing business solutions uniquely tailored for Africa.
