By Kingsley I. Ilechukwu, Bureau Chief, South West, Nigeria

The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has urged industry experts and start-ups within the technology ecosystem to work closely with the government in co-creating robust regulations that would advance human and infrastructural development towards unlocking Africa’s great potentials.

According to a press statement e-signed by the Director of Corporate Affairs & External Relations at NITDA, Hajia Hadiza Umar, Mallam Abdullahi made this call at the second edition of the annual Moonshot Tech Conference 2024 which brought together the brightest minds in the African tech space held at the Eko Convention Centre, Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos State, south west, Nigeria.

Speaking as a panellist at the conference which brings together Africa’s tech ecosystem in person to network, collaborate and share insights, the NITDA DG spoke on the topic, “Building Digital Economies for the World: How African Countries are Shaping their Tech Economies to Compete Across the Continent and Globally”.

Abdullahi highlighted the importance of balancing innovation and regulation, explaining that innovation involved turning ideas into impactful solutions. However, he noted that while innovation thrived on creativity, regulation must act as a guardrail to ensure stability.

“At NITDA, we developed an intelligent regulatory framework that will help us understand the terrain before placing regulations. A regulation that will make us intelligent, understand what you are trying build, understand the value you are bringing to the market and dynamic because we need to create that room for people to navigate,” he stated.

Abdullahi’s argument touched on the vital role of collaboration between governments and the private sector to unlock patient local capital in the continent while pointing out that Africa’s greatest asset in the tech ecosystem was its human capital.

“According to the World Bank report, by the year 2030, there would be 85 million talent deficits globally which if left unharnessed, could lead to US$8.5 trillion in unrealised annual value.”

“So, in Africa, looking at our young population, we can harness that population and position ourselves to become the global talent factory to bridge this gap deficit,” he added.

The NITDA boss stressed the need for governments to enlighten people on the potential of the technology ecosystem not just for solving local problems but global challenges. He mentioned that in Nigeria, the Nigeria Startup Act was co-created with the tech ecosystem with a focus to encourage venture capital, registration of innovation hubs and forming a council to promote local capital investments.

While calling for a collective action to strengthen Africa’s digital economy, Abdullahi averred that “we need to build the digital infrastructure that will allow us to share content within Africa and foster data flow across borders.”

Other co-panellists who shared valuable insights alongside the NITDA DG were the CEO, Ghana Chamber of Technology, Dr. Augustina Odame, the Chief Advisor Technology, Sierra Leone, David Manley and the Director of Innovation, Ministry of Digital Transformation, Mauritania, Marieme Kane.