e-Nigeria: Nigeria to move from resource to knowledge based digital economy

Arising from a three-day e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibition and Awards held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector have stressed that nations are moving away from a resource based to a knowledge based digital economy and Nigeria should not be left behind.

The stakeholders in a communique said “government should be encouraged to provide greater funding for the deployment 
of disruptive technologies.

They noted that: “Disruptive technologies like Blockchain, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, 3D printing, Big Data Analytics can be used to fight corruption 
in the public sector.

“Efforts should be made to facilitate capacity development in the adoption of 
emerging technologies, such as IoTs, Big Data, AI, in the Nigerian educational 
value-chain, through the provision of indigenous educational toolkits to support 
learning, teaching, research and administration.

They also charge government to speed up the deployment of affordable quality broadband 
networks to strengthen the competitiveness and growth of SMEs and accelerate 
the development of a Trust System for digital authentication and identification. 

According to them Nigeria has achieved a broadband penetration of 23% but is expected to hit 30% at the end of the year.
 
However,”Nigeria currently has about 45,000 base transmitter stations and 120,000 
kilometres of fibre broadband infrastructure. It is however ranked 135 out of 145 
countries of the world in terms of infrastructure, hence, the need for greater 
investment in the area of infrastructural development.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) organized the 2018 edition of the e-Nigeria Conference, Exhibition and Awards from 5th – 7
th November 2018 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

The theme of the Conference was 
“Promoting a Digital Economy in an Era of Disruptive Technologies through 
Effective Regulations’’.

eNigeria is Nigeria’s flagship International Conference, Exhibition and Awards that brings 
stakeholders together in the IT industry to deliberate on emerging technologies, local 
innovations and relevant Information and Communication Technology (ICT) issues for the socio-economic development of the nation.

The objectives of the 2018 edition are in response to digital opportunities and 
challenges created by increasing influence of emerging technologies on commerce and 
society, as well as a need to accelerate the development of and access to digital products and services to millions of Nigerian citizens, ultimately creating Africa’s largest single 
digital market by 2020.

The opening ceremony was also graced by the diplomatic community and members of the academia. A total of 2,983 participants from Nigeria and outside the country attended the conference.

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