Senate urges ministry to create awareness on new Start-up Act

The Nigerian Senate has urged the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to create more awareness on the newly enacted Start-up Act, to sensitise the youth on the benefits and opportunities of the bill.

Chairman of the Senate Committee, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Cybersecurity, Sen. Oseni Yakubu made the call at the inauguration of the Digital Nigeria Conference organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Abuja.

The theme of the conference is “Digital Transformation: A Path to Sustainable Digital Economy”.

He said the Act, which directly targets the youth, had great opportunities and benefits.

In his words, “The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy should create more awareness on the Start-up Act for Nigerian youth to know the benefits and opportunities that abound in it.

“We are going to collaborate with the ministry to create this awareness and I have been doing my little bit to create awareness of the potential of the bill.

“I trust Nigerian youth will key into the Act because they are intelligent, as well as contribute their quota to the Gross Domestic Product and place Nigeria in the ICT world map.”

He said that with the signing of the bill into law, the government initiated a N5 billion starting grant to fast-track its implementation.

According to him, “it means that there are other funds we are expecting in the sector from other sources so that we can have something to fall back to.”

Yakubu recalled the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the government with Microsoft to train five million Nigerians on digital skills.

The programme, he said, would greatly impact the country’s economy.

Prof. Isa Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy said that the digital economy could greatly support the traditional economy.

He said: “The contribution of the digital economy to the GDP of Nigeria and its role in making the economy resilient to adverse events like the COVID-19 pandemic are two good examples of the impact of the digital economy on the traditional economy.”

 Pantami commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his unwavering support towards the numerous achievements in the sector.

According to him, the efforts of the ministry continue to play a critical role in the development and digitalisation of the different sectors of the economy.

 Pantami, however, called on all stakeholders to persist in supporting the government to further accelerate the development of the digital economy sector.

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed commended Pantami on his drive towards digital transformation in the ICT sector.

Mohammed said the communication industry was the fastest-growing sector globally, adding that it has impacted the economy and created job opportunities in the country.

He, however, noted technological growth also promoted fake news and hate speech, which people should be wary of.

In his remarks, Mr Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA said, “digital transformation was not about technology, but designing people, technology and processes to deliver things the way you want it,  when you want it and how you want it  seamlessly.”

Inuwa said that digital transformation and sustainability were increasingly important and intertwined, adding that they were also full of promises and pitfalls.

“To achieve sustainability, you need a strategy to realise promises while avoiding the pitfalls,” he said.

Senate urges ministry to create awareness on new Start-up Act