Abuja, Nigeria – Mediaage NG News – Digital is the best tool to achieve economic growth, productivity and prosperity for all, these were the words of the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi at the day one of its 2023 Digital Nigeria Conference in Abuja.
He also said the aim of this year’s conference is to use the power of digital technology to foster job creation, ensure inclusive economic growth and “lay the future of digital economy”.
While revealing that digital innovation has empowered individuals and nations, he said it has also transformed ways of living, working and socialising. “It has changed societies, economies and the very fabric of our identity” Mr. Inuwa added.
He alluded that Nigeria whose collective aspirations is to reposition itself at the forefront of digital civilisation, is becoming a hub of Africa “where futuristic dreams of yesterday are becoming realities of today’s products and services”.
Describing the importance of technological growth to human lives, he said “today, you hardly demarcate your offline and online lives, your physical and virtual cansona, your cyber and made space conversation. Looking at these, digital is core to everything we do and permit around every critical sector”.
He also stated that being among the casts of the Renewed Hope Agenda of the President Bola Tinubu adminstration, to achieve economic growth and productivity, digital is the best tool because, according to statistics, digital enterprises contributed 13.5 trillion USD to the global GDP in 2018 and it is projected to contribute 53.3 trillion USD to the global GDP this year.
He said the conference is designed to achieve major objectives that include an opportunity to network which can trigger innovation and will help to grow and build the Nigerian economy.
“Innovation can enable conversation around policies and regulations that can provide the bedrock of an enabling environment for us to thrive as a nation. If we are to achieve this, we will build a stronger ecosystem which will give us global visibility”, he said.