FG Tasks Youths On Creativity, Innovation

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has charged youths to be active in the area of digital creativity and innovation to solve Nigeria’s economic problems.

Pantami gave the charge at the World creativity and innovation day (WCID) expo organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on Thursday in Abuja.

He said innovation and entrepreneurship were the two globally-accepted models used to address economic problems which could only be achieved by promoting creativity and innovation.

“Identity the various challenges we encounter in healthcare, education, security, finance and provide IT solutions to them,” he said.

The Minister disclosed that “It is indeed really encouraging that in Nigeria our future in digital creativity and innovation is very bright...

“There is no doubt about this. If you look at the ideas that are coming up from the discussions.

The quality of the inventions of our young innovators today presented before us shows originality and can be transformed into innovations, that is goods and services.

It is indeed very clear that our future in digital innovation is very bright,” he said.

He recounted that many Nigerians start-ups were blazing the trails at the global level from the innovations they were coming up with which he described as encouraging.

He added that the country would always provide the necessary enablement and support for the start-ups in the digital innovation ecosystem.

In his remark, the Director-General, NITDA, Malam Kashifu Abdullahi, seized the occasion to speak on the vital role innovations played in the growth and development of a nation’s economy.

“Innovation is a vital key to the prosperity of any nation, and our prospects for future economic growth largely hinges on our ability to innovate.”

He stated that “Innovations, particularly market-creating innovations, have the potential to transform nations and lift them out of poverty.

“Market-creating innovation pulls infrastructure and investments that can transform the economy and create prosperity.”

Abdullahi said that the Nigerian digital innovation space was making waves on the African continent..

He noted that as part of the implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, the Agency had identified innovation as a great tool that would enhance the implementation.

“At NITDA, we have identified innovation as a critical tool for implementing National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy."

We have taken bold steps to drive our nation’s prosperity by boosting digital innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Our drive towards building a robust framework and infrastructure to bolster technology innovation for all Nigerians has the firm and usual support of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy,“ Inuwa stated.

The highlight of the event was the presentation of a cheque award for N2 million to GreenAI, a farming solutions hub, as the winner of the innovation challenge and pitch session.

Other winners that emerged from the competition also got cash prizes ranging from N500,000 to N1 million.

About 50 techpreneurs were at the stand to display their various IT solutions to challenges in agriculture, e-commerce, healthcare, education and e-learning for the partially impaired and physically challenged.