Minister’s Week In Review

Last week’s (July 8 – July 12, 2024) recap of the activities of Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

INTRO?

Amongst other key engagements last week, I attended the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 2024, co-hosted by my Ministry. During the weeklong conference, which attracted public and private sector stakeholders and innovators from the EdTech industry across Africa, I highlighted the strategic importance of partnerships, inclusivity, investments, and capacity & infrastructure development towards achieving holistic growth in Africa’s digital economy.?

KEY FOCUS

Knowledge: When strategically balanced with infrastructure development, capacity development through education remains a key driver for growth. This informed the collaboration between our government and the Mastercard Foundation to organise the inaugural EdTech Conference in Abuja, bringing together various stakeholders across the continent to deliberate on issues around building a resilient and inclusive learning ecosystem.?

TIMELINE

Monday

I kicked off the week by attending the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 2024 at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Themed, ‘Education Technology for Resilient and Inclusive Learning in Africa,’ the 3-day conference highlighted the need to leverage technology to promote inclusive education across the continent, supporting Africa's burgeoning youth population.

My first activity at the conference was a panel session titled, ‘Strategic Collaboration for Inclusive EdTech Innovation: Fostering Learning Opportunities for all!’, where I spoke on the importance of inclusivity, collaboration, training & capacity development, and internet connectivity in driving productivity among citizens and growing our digital economy.?

The panel session, which was moderated by Rosy Fynn, Country Director Nigeria, Mastercard Foundation, had other panellists including Joseph Nsengimana, Director, Mastercard Foundation, and Hon. Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary, Association for the Development of Education in Africa.

Back at the office, I met with Jennifer Adighije, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in Communication, Innovation & Digital Economy, to explore areas of collaboration towards transforming Nigeria’s digital economy.

After this, I had a virtual meeting with representatives of Endeavor, a global community of high-impact entrepreneurs. Discussions at the meeting centred on their ongoing support for our 3MTT programme as well as infrastructure development, investment & taxation, and training & capacity development.

The Endeavor team was represented by Linda Rottenberg, Co-Founder and CEO, Endeavor; Bolaji Balogun, CEO, Chapel Hill Denham & Chairman, Endeavor Nigeria Board of Directors; Ireayomide Oladunjoye, Managing Director and CEO, Endeavor Nigeria; Christian Wessels, CEO, Daystar Power & Endeavor Nigeria Board Director; Sari El-Khalil, Chief Transformation Officer, SevenUp Bottling Company & Endeavor Nigeria Board Director; Derin Adebayo, Manager, Entrepreneur Selection, Endeavor Global; Joy Mabia, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Endeavor Nigeria.

Tuesday

I hosted in my office, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to discuss areas of collaboration between the Ministry and the Commission, especially around their work in developing a holistic Digital ID system for Nigerians which is a critical component of our ambitions to continue to grow our Digital Economy.

Following this meeting, I headed to Transcorp Hilton Abuja to attend Day 2 of the Mastercard EdTech Conference 2024 where I spoke in a panel session themed, ‘Building Tomorrow’s Education: Infrastructure Requirements for an EdTech Ecosystem in Africa.’

The panel, which was moderated by Rodwell Mangisi, had other panellists including Didier Nkurikiyimfura, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer, SMART Africa, and Robert Hawkins, Senior Education Specialist, World Bank Group.

Following that I attended the first stakeholder engagement session for the National Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill where I joined Sen. Shuaib Afolabi Salisu, Chairman, Senate Committee on ICT & Cybersecurity, and Hon. Stanley Adedeji Olajide, Chairman, House Committee on Digital and Information Communication Technology, to address a cross-section of the media.

The session marks the kick-off of a nationwide consultation process in support of the passing of the Bill which is set to enhance the use of digital technology to support the growth and transformation of Nigeria's economy through the application of digital technology.

After this engagement, I attended the inauguration of the Presidential Committee on the Implementation of the Livestock Reforms at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The Committee, which was inaugurated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has the mandate to address obstacles to agricultural productivity and open up new opportunities which benefit farmers, herders, processors, and distributors in the livestock-farming value chain.?

Wednesday

I started the day by meeting with the team from ATC Nigeria to discuss areas of partnership, especially for the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme. The ATC Nigeria team was represented by Joseph Myapurgi, Regional Regulatory Manager; Jared Mballo, Zonal Regulatory Manager; and Chinwe Odigboegwu, Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs.

I then headed to the Presidential Villa to attend the scheduled Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Later in the day, I joined the opening sessions of the Mastercard Foundation Ministerial Forum on EdTech in Africa where I engaged fellow Ministers and government officials across Africa on the intricacies of harnessing the power of ICT to transform education systems.

Thursday

On the second day of the Mastercard Foundation Ministerial Forum on EdTech in Africa, I spoke on a discussion panel themed, ‘Data, Policy, and Infrastructure’. I was joined on the panel by Hendrina Doroba, Manager for Education and Skills Development, African Development Bank; Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA); and Tracey Shiundu, Co-Founder and CEO, FunKE Science.

The panel was moderated by Suraj Shah, Head, Strategic Partnerships and Thought Leadership, Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

I later met with Simon Melchoir, CEO of software technology company, Asseco, to discuss the work of the company in Nigeria, and also identify areas of collaboration between it and the Ministry, particularly in the agriculture sector.

The next activity on my schedule for Thursday was to commission the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Centre of Excellence in Abuja. Powered by global technology company, Nokia, the facility will provide Nigerians with technical skills to support and enhance the pool of talent in the telecommunications sector in Nigeria.?

The launch of this centre, follows extended engagement with officials of Nokia during my recent visit to Finland.

Friday?

I received updates from Engr. Salisu Kaka, Director, Digital Economy, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), on preparations and activities towards the G20 Summit scheduled for November in Brazil.

I also met with the NITDA team working on the portal for IT Service Providers which is currently under review. The team also shared challenges and updates as regards linking the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) APIs.

The NITDA team had in attendance, Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, IT Infrastructure Solutions Department; Oladejo Olawumi, IT Infrastructure? Solutions Department; and Dr. Dimie Wariowei, Director, eGovernment Development and Regulation (eGDR).

My final meeting of the week was with Niklas Gunnebrant, Deputy CEO of IST Group, who made a presentation on the features of the company’s government education platform. Following his presentation, we discussed the importance of an interoperable system which enables authorised users to share data in a secure and efficient manner.

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Last week, my activities focused on the Knowledge and Policy pillar objectives of our Strategic Blueprint as I engaged extensively with participants and other key stakeholders during the weeklong Mastercard Foundation EdTech Conference 2024, co-hosted by the Ministry. I also participated in the first stakeholder engagement session geared at receiving input from the media towards the development of the National Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill.