StartupSouth: NITDA unfolds plans to spread $4.5trn global digital ecosystem to South-South, other

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) says it is determined to push some of the Nigeria’s share of the digital global ecosystem which has been put at $4.5trillion to the South-South, following reports that the fund is heading mostly to Lagos, South West geo-political zone of the country.

This was disclosed at the recently concluded StartupSouth by the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, who said that the StartupSouth was a good vehicle to carry some of the opportunities to the South-South and South east.

Inuwa, who was represented by Aristotle Onumo, NITDA director, Corporate Planning and Strategy, highlighted that the conference was a platform for innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts to come together to collaborate for creativity, share ideas and elicit groundbreaking ideas that would shape the future of technology, not only in Nigeria, but also in of Africa.

Inuwa affirmed that forums like the Startup South were a great opportunity for global exposure of young talents as he commended the effort of the organisers for organising such a creative avenue and working tirelessly to build the next generation digital solution.

Inuwa called on all the startups and participants to seize the opportunity the exist within the conference to build partnerships and collaborate so that their products could experience a global relevance.

He expressed his delight that Nigeria has continued to lead in the change in the Africa digital platform and the entire Africa digital ecosystem, stressing that the world is looking at Africa at the moment, and Nigeria in particular to lead technological advancement.

Inuwa announced that if Nigeria could tap into even one per cent of the $4.5 trillion, the economic value will be enormous.

DG NITDA also disclosed that Lagos State has more share in the percentage that comes to Nigeria, and that is why the Agency deemed it fit to take interest in Startup South in order to spread the value that comes into Nigeria, especially as it has to do with the entire ecosystem.

According to him, “NITDA has built a vision anchored on making Nigeria an empowered digital nation through digital innovation. And our vision is anchored on eight strategic pillars. One of such pillars is fostering digital literacy and also cultivating talents.

“In doing that, we have come up with series of programmes which include digital literacy for all Nigerians. In this programme, our vision or goal is to ensure that by 2027, we have 30 million SMEs and those in the informal sector skilled in the area of digital literacy.

“That programme has already commenced, because we are partnering with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to ensure that we train digital champions that will reach out to the rural areas, markets, and organisations that ensure that 30 million Nigerians are digitally literate by the year 2027.”

Consequently, Inuwa called on organizations, tech hubs and agencies, to collaborate with NITDA in actualising goal 2027.

The U.S. Consulate Deputy Political and Economic Chief, Kenise Hill, while delivering a goodwill message virtually, said the conference was particularly timely and resonated deeply with the work that the U.S mission was doing.

She emphasized the powerfulness of tech tool for bridging the developmental divide, creating job, improving the quality of life and creating equity for all.

Hill, explained that technology has been at the centre of the deepening relationship between the U.S and Nigeria, and in fact all across the continent.

“In December 2022, President Joe Biden launched the digital transformation with the Africa initiative to expand the digital access and literacy, and strengthen digital enabling environment across the continent,” she said.

StartupSouth which is shown as a veritable vehicle for transmission of the digital drive, is said to now aim to go global to attract digital talents and attention to South-South region.

The convener of StartupSouth conference, Uche Aniche, who spoke during the 9th edition of the StartupSouth two-day conference which held early in 0ctober 2024 in Port Harcourt, said the entrepreneurship ecosystem development and advocacy organization has supported the emergence of the thriving digital ecosystem within the South-South and South-East region.

Aniche, revealed that StartupSouth is no longer looking to just be a regional platform or organization, hence it is positioning to pull businesses from anywhere in the world to the south-south and south east.

Aniche, said, “This year’s conference themed ‘Deep & Broad: Extending Frontiers of Technology and Economic Development,’ is aimed at bringing people together, exposing and hopefully inspiring them to think bigger and build something big.

He added that the sessions were about people doing awesome things.

Aniche acknowledged that he alone cannot drag global attention to the south and appealed to governments of the region to join to move the project or run the risk of becoming obsolete.

He urged participants to tune into the conversations at the event.

Speaking earlier, while delivering a keynote presentation, the Regional Head of MainOne Equinix Company, Abayomi Adebanjo, said there is a digital concentration in urban markets that are better served, such as Lagos, as most of the connectivity is centred in Lagos and all the cables that power up the Internet in Nigeria land in Lagos.

Adebanjo  said“We need to create more centrifugal forces in other parts of the country, not just Lagos. For us in MainOne, the core of digital transformation is creating an infrastructure ecosystem. So, we facilitated the very first subsea cable landing in South-South Nigeria, specifically Akwa Ibom State.”

He pointed out that this was a game changer for the entire country, as it will open an entirely new digital gateway and corridor that would enable further broadband penetration within the South-South region.

Adebanjo announced that MainOne did not just stop at landing the cable in Akwa Ibom State, but is going further to build a terrestrial infrastructure network that would be able to carry all the subsea capacity traffic as well as building a data centre in Port Harcourt.

He affirmed that these initiatives would enable consumers, enterprises, and multinationals to optimise digital services and embark on a digital transformational journey.

During his presentation on ‘Securing the Future of Tech’, Yen Choi from Chiplab,  said: “Nigeria needs to reverse Japa like in India where citizens are returning home from abroad”.

On his part, Tomi Davies (TD) of African Business Angel Network who spoke virtually, said “Startups need support. They need funding to scale up their ideas and innovations. Angel investors step in where traditional financial institutions are skeptical. I believe the future of Angel investor in Africa is ripe.”

Davies, therefore urged participants at the conference to go find an angel investor, not just for the funding, but for the mentorship and network, because, as he said, collaboration is key.

During his presentation on ‘Digital Transformation Through SaaS: Unlocking New Growth Pathways for African Enterprises”, the Zoho West African Team Lead, Onyekachi Oparah, said that: “Tech should be like the epicentre of every business growth.”

Oparah recounted how Zoho, an Indian multinational technology company, has helped businesses advance digitally, adding “The first goal for any business growth should be customer-experience. So, with Zoho Desk app, customers can reach out to you and you can connect all the channels through which you connect to your customers seamlessly from one application. We have over 50 applications to help businesses thrive.”

Yemisi Isidi, , a participant and speaker at the event, who came in from Abuja for the conference while speaking on the sideline after the day two of the conference, said she was so inspired by the work that was put into the conference, the ambitions of the young participants, and how members of the ecosystem were going out of their way to give out.

Isidi, said “It has been very humbling and absolutely inspirational for me. It has been a lot of learning for me personally, for my business growth, and also an amazing opportunity to network and connect with diverse people.”

The conference featured breakout sessions, investors meetup, panel discussions, and award presentations. The awards targeted achievements of founders and corporate organizations in the Innovation ecosystem and embodied the core values of the StartupSouth movement.

Winners of the Xend Finance Hackathon were announced on the day-two of the conference, and after weeks of developing and building, Eden Finance emerged first with their innovative finance solution and secured $1000. Safe launch came second with $750 funding & FLLOW emerged third place with $500.

The Conference is said to be sponsored by Zoho Corporations, MainOne, Xend Finance, and others.