The Digital Transformation Center (DTC) Nigeria held a stakeholder engagement event in partnership with the Innovation Support Network (ISN) to launch the call for proposals for Nigerian Digital Innovation Hubs (DIH). The launch event was held on the 28th of September 2022 at The Radisson Blu Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos. DTC Nigeria is a bilateral cooperation project of the Nigerian and German governments, that is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. DTC Nigeria aims to contribute to the improvement of the capacity of the Nigerian economy to utilize digital innovation for growth, through the digital transformation of the economy and society.
The purpose of the event was to bring together the Nigerian digital innovation stakeholders; Technology & Innovation hubs, Academia, research & development institutes, Chambers of Commerce and trade associations, Private Technology Providers, Vocational Training Institutes, and Public or private funding/finance organizations to ensure that they understand the concept and apply to establish DIH. DTC Nigeria will support the establishment of 2 Digital Innovation Hubs in Nigeria to foster the digital transformation of MSMEs and cooperation among ecosystem actors here and internationaly. The Hubs will cooperate with a network of over 200 counterparts in Africa and Europe and promote strategic partnerships between innovative start-ups and MSMEs.
The event was attended by representatives of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), SMEDAN, LASRIC, LCCI, and other key members of the technology and innovation ecosystem in Lagos. In attendance were over 100 attendees. This was the first in a series of stakeholder engagement events across Nigeria. There will be more events held in 4 geo-political zones in the coming weeks to ensure maximum participation by the Nigerian innovation ecosystem. More information about the application process can be found on the Digital Transformation Center Nigeria website for interested parties.
“We focus mainly on Digitalisation and Entrepreneurship, with emphasis on supporting the digitalisation of non tech MSMEs and promoting cooperation among Digital Innovation ecosystem actors in Nigeria and beyond. Although MSMEs represent about 96% of businesses in Nigeria and contribute to 75% of national employment, they still do not have access to digitalisation, and this is the problem which Digital Innovation Hubs can solve.” – Dr. Thuweba Diwani, Head of Project of the Digital Transformation Center, Nigeria
The deadline for applications is 11th November 2022. For more information about GIZ/DTC Nigeria, please send an email to dtc-nigeria@giz.de or check the website
