COVID-19: NITDA sets up committee on sustaining IT dividends

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) had set up a 10-member advisory committee to curtail the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Information Technology (IT) ecosystem and the economy.

Mr Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA, disclosed this in a statement by Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs and External Relations on Wednesday in Abuja.

He stated this at the inauguration of the committee that was charged with providing an enabling environment for technology start-ups and ICT businesses during this period.

Members of the committee include Mr Tomi Davies, President, African Business Angels Network, Mr Amal Hassan, Managing Director(MD), Outsource Global,Mr Bosun Tijani, MD, Co-Creation Hub.

Other members were Mrs Juliet Anammah, Head, International Affairs, Jumia Group, Mr Kola Aina, Founder, Ventures Platform, Mr Musa Baba, MD, Teasy Pay, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-Founder, Andela.

Mr Collins Onuegbu, MD, Signal Alliance, Dr Kalli Zannah, Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy as well as Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji, the National Coordinator, Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship are also members.

Inuwa said the committee was expected to devise suitable strategies for the provision of affordable internet access to individuals and businesses.

“You are to develop a framework to facilitate access to financing for technology and tech enabled ventures.

“Part of your responsibilities is also to devise modalities for encouraging the development and adoption of digital technology to support policies in line with the Work From Home directives of the Federal Government.

“You will develop a support programme for innovation hubs to facilitate access to remote resources by start-ups during the work from home as well as other forms of support the hubs may require to be sustainable,” he said.

He encouraged the committee to develop an all stakeholders enabled instrument especially technology and tech enabled start-ups.

Inuwa said the committee members contributions was needed at this critical time to ensure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country’s economy was minimised.

The committee have 48 hours to submit a preliminary report and would be expected to make effective use of digital technologies in carrying out its assignment.