Grace Ashiru
The Nigerian Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, along with its agencies such as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), will collaborate closely with Nigerian startup companies to streamline the purchase of technological solutions to avoid needless bureaucratic red tape.
The Federal Executive Council gave the National Information Technology Agency permission to bring in startups to come and show off their solutions. Government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) will also be there to find solutions that meet their needs.
Kashif Inuwa, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), said this at Co-Create 2022 in Lagos, a tech show put on by Gage Awards.
Inuwa said, “We know that some of you are having trouble with the government procurement process because it is so bureaucratic. But the Federal Executive Council has permitted us to work with you to make it easier for the Government to buy from you.
There are a lot of problems in Nigeria right now that need creative solutions. So, this kind of partnership can make that possible. Collaboration is vital because you can’t be innovative on your own; it’s all about the ecosystem. If you look around the world, you’ll see that innovation is not spread out in the same way everywhere. It tends to happen in groups. Then, what makes those clusters so unique? It has to do with the ecosystem.
As a crucial part of the ecosystem, the Government will continue to create the right policies and infrastructure to make the ecosystem work. But to grow, you also need money.
In Nigeria, one of the most significant problems we face is that every new business venture needs a seed fund from the Government, even though we are aware that this is not possible. The Government cannot offer seed funding to all businesses; however, we have wealthy people, and if you can persuade them to invest in your startup, they will do so,” he added.
