Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Abdullahi has stated that Women and youths must be identified as the biggest drivers of innovation, which is considered a vital key to the prosperity of any great nation.
Abdullahi made this known at a Town hall Meeting in Abuja Organized by ECOWAS Female Parliamentarians Association (ECOFEPA) with the theme: “Stimulating a Regional Dynamic for Mentoring the Next Generation of Decision Makers.
Represented by the Special Adviser, Strategy and Innovation to the Director General, Iklima Salihu, the NITDA Boss said that women and youths have a significant role in shaping Nigeria’s GDP in the nearest future.
He noted that it is worth noting that the Council on Foreign Relations estimates that Nigeria can gain US$229 billion in GDP growth if women’s participation in digital economy sector nears parity, adding that a larger share of the global digital economy will be fully harnessed, which the World Economic Forum (WEF) projects to be worth US$20.8 trillion by 2025.
On NITDA’s Office for Nigerian Digital Innovation (ONDI), another NITDA Special Purpose Vehicle, being responsible for incubating ideas and developing an enabling environment for startups to thrive, Abdullahi mentioned that about 33,500 jobs have been created in the country, while a remarkable 3.3 million Nigerians from all works of life have been trained in various facets of IT such as Cyber security, Digital Literacy, Artificial Intelligence, and Cloud Computing courtesy of collaboration with stakeholders. He also said the agency is currently developing a Gender Digital Inclusion Strategy, which has identified the barriers that impede women from utilizing and gaining the benefits of their inclusion in IT, saying the strategy will outline the steps that will be taken to bridge the gap that exists in the digital economy and a National Digital Talent Strategy.