The meeting was also aimed at strengthening the country’s digital economy by increasing contributions of information and communications technology to the gross domestic product , as well as proffering solutions to challenges faced in the ecosystem.
The NITDA director-general, Kahisfu Inuwa, represented by the agency’s acting director,Digital Economy Department, Engr. Salisu Kaka expressed his pleasure at the turnout and appreciated all innovators present despite their busy schedules. The DG, while giving his opening remark, stated that a symbiotic relationship between the government and the players in the ecosystem was essential to achieve a collective desired result. “Whatever the government is out to achieve, the private sector should help the government achieve it, and whatever the private sector is set to achieve, the government should help and support,” he stated.
Speaking on the vast amount of human and natural resources amassed by the Nation, the NITDA DG urged stakeholders in the software and innovation ecosystem to harness and utilize these resources for optimal productivity. He emphatically admonished all participants to freely critique constructively, challenge what needs to be challenged, and also give recommendations on how the challenges faced can be surmounted. “We are here to listen to you, and I am positive that today will be a historical day where we co-create and re-identify our routes in bridging identified gaps and creating a bright future,” he concluded.