By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has disclosed that the federal government has secured a $500 million loan for a local funding programme.
According to the tech maven, the credit facility would be used to boost innovation and entrepreneurship within the country’s digital sector.
“So, we’ve got access to about half a billion dollars to start local funding,” the Minister said last Friday at a dinner organised in his honour by the ministry in partnership with the World Bank.
The occasion was also used to unveil an ambitious target to provide at least 148 million people of working age with a digital national ID by the middle of next year, marking a significant step towards inclusion and accessibility.
Mr Tijani outlined federal government’s plan to domicile local funding in Nigeria and ensure that it benefits true Nigerian businesses, adding that it will be collaborating with the Bank of Industry (BoI).
He also highlighted the importance of supporting and promoting Nigerian businesses.
“We want to ensure that those businesses that will benefit are true, real Nigerian businesses,” adding that by domiciling the funding locally, the government aims to foster the growth and development of homegrown enterprises, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic progress.
The minister assured the public that the initial $500 million announced for local funding is just the beginning. He stressed that more investors would be brought on board, to increase the funds available to support Nigerian innovators.
Mr Tijani also emphasised that the government’s goal is to leverage the fund to attract additional investment and expand resources for local entrepreneurs.
“Part of my responsibilities is working with BoI to ensure that we domicile that funding locally in Nigeria, work with firms who manage and invest in businesses to ensure that those businesses that will benefit are true, real Nigerian businesses.
“And what we are going to see is that the funding is available locally and in the coming months it is going to become larger and as these funds become larger, we want to leverage that money as well.
“So, the government is not just going to put half a billion and that’s it, it can actually bring more investors to heart as we have more money and more of our innovators can have access to resources.”
On his part, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr Shubham Chaudhuri, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to eradicating poverty, improving lives, and creating job opportunities for the country’s youth.
Mr Chaudhuri emphasised the potential of leveraging digital technologies to drive transformation and outlined two key areas of partnership with Nigeria to achieve these goals.
He said the World Bank is collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission to ensure the successful rollout and registration of digital national IDs for all Nigerians.
According to him, “Our main mission here in Nigeria is to eliminate poverty, make lives better, and create jobs, for all Nigerian youth. One of the areas that we think have the greatest potential is the area of using digital technologies to transform. Now to do that it begins with having this digital national ID.
“So, one of the main partnerships we have is working with NIMC to ensure the rollout of the registration so that all [estimated] 220 million Nigerians have a digital national ID, beginning of course with all people of working age and I think the target for that is at least 148 million people by the middle of next year.
“The second is helping Nigeria lead the broadband infrastructure for broadband connectivity because without broadband connectivity digital technologies will lead to a digital divide. So, their support has been for good kinds of policies and regulations that will help invite private investment into this space and then fibre optic cables.
“One thing, for example, working with states is to persuade states to reduce the right of way fees and fibre. Cable operators have to pay more when they’re getting the land to lay the cable. All that is like the foundations and real potential comes from once you have the national ID, all the technologies that apps that can be built on the weather to bring services to people, to people where they get people access to finance that all of that needs skills.”
Dipo Olowookere