From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
With the surge in global unemployment and inflation statistics now a nightmare to world leaders, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has promised to place priority on empowering youths by creating an enabling environment to nurture and escalate their potential for the sustenance of digital economy in the country.
A statement by the agency, said Inuwa made the declaration in a keynote address on “Problems, Possibilities and Potential of Nigerian Youths” at the Youth Entrepreneurship Dialogue (YED) Global Entrepreneurship Week, 2022, organised by Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN).
The NITDA boss applauded Nigerian youths for their consistent drive and enthusiasm towards the deployment of technological innovations in their various entrepreneurship ventures towards the progress and development of the Nigerian economy.
“The fact that Nigerian entrepreneurs, mainly the youth, kept delivering on innovation and promoting inclusion, leading to positive socio-economic impact and economic growth, is an indication of Nigeria’s entrepreneurship dexterity. Indeed, entrepreneurs are and will remain the backbone of the Nigerian economy”, he noted.
While expressing his empathy at the challenges faced by the ecosystem, Inuwa assured of the Federal Government’s total support and commitment to the giant entrepreneurial strides taken by the Nigerian youths through the provision of infrastructures, policies and initiatives that will create an enabling environment.
Disclosing NITDA’s commitment to promoting entrepreneurship and Innovation Driven Enterprises (IDEs) in the country, he stated that the Agency developed its Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP) with various initiatives deployed in collaboration with stakeholders to align the nation with the best global practices.
“NITDA has always been committed to driving youth entrepreneurship and we have continued to train and equip young innovative Nigerians aspiring to realise their entrepreneurial dreams through strategic programs”, he noted.
Highlighting some of these initiatives, the DG said that the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support (TIES) scheme, the Idea Hatch (iHatch) incubation programme in partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Bridge to MassChallenge (B2MC) are few of the several initiatives adopted and deployed by the agency in supporting entrepreneurship and creation of more IDEs.
Speaking on the Federal Government’s support for the promotion of entrepreneurship and the creation of more IDEs in the country, Inuwa added that “NITDA in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President for the actualisation of the newly signed Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) into law by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, which has now become the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA)”.
Describing the NSA as one of the milestone achievements by the present government administration, Inuwa charged youths in the country to take full advantage of the initiative while stating that the Act would give them limitless opportunities in harnessing the boundless benefits it offers.
The DG averred that the youths of the country are the most critical elements in the evolutionary process as they are the drivers of change with significant impact on the economic, social, political and cultural transformation in the country as well as globally.