Nigeria can earn $40bn from tech sector

Nigeria has a competitive advantage to become the global talent factory in the area, with the potential to generate over $40 billion yearly.Information Guide Nigeria

Kashifu Abdullahi, director general and chief executive officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated this as a panelist at the 16th Annual LEX Lecture on Wednesday.

The topic of the virtual lecture was “Digital Economy: A Catalyst for Regional Growth and Transformation in Africa.”

Abdullahi noted that there was a global shortage of approximately four million programmers, and that Nigeria had the capacity to develop two million programmers who could be integrated into the global value chain.

The NITDA DG also cited a PwC research stating that a typical software developer or programmer makes between $30,000 and $150,000 annually.

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According to him, PwC affirmed that if Nigeria could have two million remote developers making roughly $20,000 per year, the country could produce over $40 billion yearly, a considerable sum capable of resolving the country’s foreign exchange problem.

“The digital economy is about innovation, about people, about talent. So, talent is the people component of technology which I think is where Nigeria will have the competitive advantage over any nation in the world,” Abdullahi said.

The head of the NITDA cited a recent report by Korn Ferry that predicted a global talent shortfall of 85 million, stating that all industrialized nations will be affected, with countries such as Brazil and Japan having approximately 18 million. He said that the global deficit was expected to reach $8.5 trillion, from which Nigeria might profit by capitalizing on its vast human talent and young population.JAMB portal

In his evaluation of the five largest technology companies in the world, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta, Abdullahi determined that their combined market value exceeded $9 trillion.

“If they were a nation, they would be the third-largest economy in the world because no country has $9tn, except the US and China,” he said.

As such, Abdullahi said Nigeria needed to identify where its strength was.

“Like in Nigeria, our strength is in talent. We cannot compete with them when it comes to manufacturing, but we can compete in talent. Can we make Nigeria the global talent factory? I think we can. So if we can work on this, Nigeria can become the global talent factory, supplying all these big techs with the talent they need, and also compete favourably when it comes to the digital economy,” he said.

Speaking on how NITDA is working towards building talents in the technology sector, Abdullahi said the agency had commenced its one million developers initiative aimed at empowering one million Nigerians to plug into the global value chain. He further noted that the programme was focused on building talents on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, and data analytics, which he described as key to the digital economy.NYSC portal

“All these are disruptive technologies. They are going to change the way we live, work and do business. And they are foundational technologies, they cut across so many sectors,” he said.

Abdullahi stated that NITDA was working on the National Digital Economy Bill, which aims to provide the legislative foundation for the flourishing of the digital economy. In addition, he advocated for the continuous evaluation of legal frameworks and the implementation of policies that support digital transformation, as well as the construction of institutions that produce human capital through digital literacy and capacity building.

“We need to have institutions that will produce the human capital, because the digital economy is about innovation, it’s about people. So you need to add people with talent ideas that will be part of the ecosystem to help build the economy,” he said.

Abdullahi also urged entrepreneurs, startups, and venture capitalists in the tech industry to form collaborations centered on developing and investing in new ideas.

Noting that the government had two major responsibilities, including intervention in the area of legal framework, policies, and regulation, as well as the provision of infrastructure to unserved and underserved communities, he urged the government to provide the enabling environments for all in order for the ecosystem to flourish.JAMB Result

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