President Muhammadu Buhari has indicated that Nigeria is ready to accept additional digital technology projects and investments.
The President said this on Friday as he praised Microsoft for investing $200 million in Nigeria to construct an engineering hub called the African Development Centre.
The President, who was joined by the Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Ali Pantami, received Microsoft Corporation President Brad Smith at the State House and reiterated his regime’s commitment to helping the country’s digital technology growth.
“I have been informed that the African Development Centre in Nigeria is Microsoft’s first engineering hub in Africa as the current investment stands at about $200 million,’’ Buhari was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina.
“I have also been informed of Microsoft’s skilling initiative that aims to train five million citizens and provide 27,000 jobs over the next three years. These initiatives are commendable and I urge you to expand them and continue to prioritize Nigeria as you roll out your global initiatives,’’ he added.
Buhari informed the Microsoft team that Nigeria, as Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, was well-positioned to play a critical role in the global digital ecosystem and that the country was looking for the appropriate partnerships to realize its potential.
One of these important partnerships, he noted, was in the field of capacity building.
He claimed that his administration had demonstrated a strong commitment to creating an investment-friendly environment and that the large increase in the Global Ease of Doing Business Ranking was proof that the efforts were paying off.
“Our emphasis on the development of our Digital Economy has also positioned the sector as a prominent factor in the Nigerian economy. As the fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy in 2020, the Information and Communications Technology sector played a very important role in supporting our country to exit the recession triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are keen to build on the momentum as we continue to implement our National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, along with other related policies.’’
Apart from the skills-building cooperation, Buhari stated that he is looking forward to more collaborations that would help the digital infrastructure and innovation ecosystem in the area of new technologies.
“I believe that this meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss how the Nigerian government can support the growth of your business here and how Microsoft can contribute to the growth of our economy through the active support of our policies and programmes,’’ he added.
Buhari announced the Nigerian National Broadband Plan on March 19, 2020, with the goal of increasing broadband access across the country, and Microsoft’s connectivity drive is in line with the plan.
“I believe it would be very useful and mutually beneficial to both Microsoft and Nigeria if your connectivity project is expanded beyond the current four locations in this country.
“Emerging technologies play a key role in digital transformation in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and a number of indigenous companies have developed very useful solutions. We are willing to partner with Microsoft to make Nigeria the epicenter for innovative emerging technology in Africa.’’
Pantami stated in his speech that he represented Buhari at the launching of the African Development Centre, and that Microsoft employed over 200 Nigerians in Nigeria and Seattle.
He also mentioned that the IT firm has taught 320,000 Nigerians in digital skills.
Smith, for one, stated that the company will continue to create jobs in order to assist in the development of technologies that will alter the world, stressing that the “multi-tasking approach” also extends to digital infrastructure.
“We pledge to train five million people in Nigeria in the future,’’ Smith said, noting “60,000 people had already enrolled for courses while 300,000 had completed various courses.’’
He said the company has formed partnerships with other companies to improve Internet and broadband penetration, and that work in developing technology to combat corruption and preserve cultural heritages, such as languages, have progressed.
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