IT experts key to projected 15bn income by 2018

According to the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Dr. Peter Jack, the country’s Information Technology sector is growing at a fast rate, contributing billions of dollars to the economy.

He said that the agency itself projects that it would generate over $15 billion from home grown software, hardware and IT services to the economy by the year 2018.

Jack said that Nigeria can only be an IT capable country in the knowledge economy if local products were given priority attention.

Jack stated this in the agency’s proposed strategic plan for 2015 through 2018 on Wednesday, in Abuja at the just concluded African ICT Alliance Chief Executive Officers Round-Table held in partnership with Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names, ICANN,

According to him, the Nigerian IT regulatory agency would create 70 per cent of computing devices, especially in homes with school going children, noting, that the strategic plan presented a systematic and pragmatic set of programmes or initiatives that reflected what needed to be done to gravitate NITDA towards a service oriented, modern, accountable and real time, SMART, agency that would facilitate a digitally transformed Nigeria.

The main thrust, the NITDA DG said, was to identify and highlight the drivers and catalysts that will transform the economy as well as foster high quality of life for all citizens.

Assuring that the agency was targeting to create 4,000,000 additional jobs by 2018, he said that 80 per cent of public service would be available online by the year in question.

Assuring as part of the agency’s target, he said that NITDA was pushing for the adoption of local software and digital content growth of 55 per cent in four years, and that the agency was committed to 40 per cent reduction in cybercrime and 50 per cent.

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