The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa, has said that the Federal Government’s collaboration with tech giant Google is poised to position Nigeria as a global technology hub.
Inuwa stated this during a televised interview monitored in Lagos on Thursday.
Inuwa revealed that the partnership is centered on five key areas: infrastructure development, scaling digital skills among citizens, fostering artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, promoting cloud adoption, and establishing a robust investment framework.
He says the collaboration aims to create a sustainable ecosystem to drive Nigeria’s digital transformation.
Inuwa explained that the partnership will result in the development of a comprehensive roadmap to accelerate Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The partnership will focus on five critical areas: infrastructure development, scaling of citizens, AI innovation, cloud adoption, and investment framework,” he stated.
Data centres and the digital economy
Inuwa emphasized the pivotal role of data centres in advancing the digital economy, stressing the need to localize sensitive data for both government and private sector use.
He noted that data centres globally operate independently of grid electricity, adopting green energy solutions to meet sustainability goals.
“Data centres go off-grid and embrace green energy because they also need carbon credits. We are exploring this as part of the framework,” he added.
- The NITDA boss also highlighted the importance of equipping Nigeria’s workforce with digital skills to maximize the opportunities presented by the partnership.
- He called for the integration of digital literacy into the education system, from primary schools to tertiary institutions, to ensure a future-ready workforce.
- Addressing questions about the partnership with Awari Technologies, Kashifu clarified that it is separate from the Google initiative.
- He explained that the collaboration with Awari is under a “Special Purpose Vehicle” aimed at developing a large language model tailored to Nigeria.
The project is designed to promote indigenous languages and cultural heritage.
What you should know
Nairametrics earlier this week reported that the CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai on Wednesday met with Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu in Paris, where both leaders discussed a partnership to expand Artificial Intelligence (AI) skills in Nigeria.
“We talked about the immense potential of AI in Nigeria, and how we can partner to expand AI skills, enable innovation, and support Nigeria’s growing tech ecosystem,” Pichai stated after the meeting.
- The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, also noted that the meeting demonstrated the Nigerian government’s commitment to AI and Google’s ongoing support towards developing AI skills and innovation in critical sectors in Nigeria.
- Last year, Google announced two separate AI initiatives in Nigeria in partnership with the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, both aimed at empowering Nigerians with AI skills.
