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Nigeria to focus on Blockchain and emerging technologies with plans to set up research centers
In Nigeria, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is looking to establish research centers geared toward emerging technologies such as blockchain.
The initiative was announced from NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuw, at the IoT West Africa Conference in Lagos.
According to the Director General, the research centers will focus on key technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT)unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), additive manufacturing and robotics along with blockchain technology.
According to Inuwa, the entities would be deployed in “six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.”
In addition to establishing these research units, the government would also help Nigerian startups scale product development using these technologies. In this regard, innovation sandboxes would be leveraged to develop use cases and ultimately bring these products to the market.
In this context, NITDA has educated the people of the nation through its 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) ProgramBy 2027, the government plans to equip three million Nigerians with the skills needed to strengthen its current initiatives.
As a broader consequence, Inuwa expects an increase in foreign currency remittances as people trained through these initiatives leave the country.
Shitij Taneja, CEO of Vertex Next, the organizers of the IoT West Africa conference, called Nigeria “Africa’s next Silicon Valley.” He believes Nigeria’s large youth population and vibrant startup ecosystem position it as a driving force.
“The reason we are hosting IoT West Africa, which is taking place alongside the Africa Data Center and Cloud Expo Africa, is because we see a lot of potential in the market and the growing number of young people working on developing the technology.”
Taneja added that the conference also aims to attract investors to Nigerian startups.
Nigeria’s growing focus on emerging technologies has been quite evident in recent months. In May, the NITDA refurbished the National Blockchain Policy Steering Committee (NBPSC) in an effort to facilitate better implementation of its National Blockchain Policy.
The nation is also keeping an eye on potential collaboration with the United States of America to explore the potential of AI and other emerging technologies. However, the nation recent legal tensions with the economic giant involving a detained executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance.
According to the Blockchain Industry Coordinating Committee of Nigeria (BICCoN), a blockchain advocacy group, this development could lead to fragmented relationships with global partners.