Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is looking to roll out research centers geared towards emerging technologies like Blockchain.
The initiative was Advertise By the Director General of the National Technology Development Agency, Kashifu Eno, at the West Africa Internet of Things Conference in Lagos.
According to the Director General, the research centers will focus on key technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, unmanned aerial vehicles, additive manufacturing, robotics and blockchain technology.
The entities will be deployed in “six geopolitical zones in Nigeria,” according to Inuwa.
In addition to setting up these research units, the government will also help Nigerian startups scale up product development using these technologies. In this regard, innovation funds will be leveraged to develop use cases and eventually bring these products to market.
Against this backdrop, the ICT Industry Development Agency has been training the country’s population through 3 Million Talents Program (3MTT)By 2027, the government plans to equip three million Nigerians with the skills needed to support its current initiatives.
As a broader outcome, Inuwa expects an increase in foreign currency remittances as individuals trained through these initiatives leave the country.
Nigeria has been dubbed “the next Silicon Valley of Africa” by Shitij Taneja, managing director of Vertex Next, the organiser of the West Africa Internet of Things conference. He believes Nigeria’s large youth population and dynamic startup ecosystem put it in a prime position.
“The reason we are hosting the West Africa IoT Expo, which is held in the same venue as the Africa Data Centre and Cloud Expo, is because we see a lot of potential in the market and the growing number of young people working towards technology development.”
Taneja added that the conference also seeks to attract investors towards Nigerian startups.
Nigeria’s increased focus on emerging technologies has been quite evident over the past few months. In May, the Nigerian ICT Development Authority released Restructured National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee (NBPSC) in a move to facilitate better implementation of the National Blockchain Policy.
The nation is also looking forward Potential collaboration with the United States to explore the potential of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. This is despite recent legal tensions between the United States and the economic powerhouse involving the detention of an executive at cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
According to the Blockchain Industry Coordination Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), a blockchain advocacy group, this development could lead to fragmentation of relationships with global partners.