Director-general, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has inaugurated a 10-member advisory committee to advise government on measures to cushion impact of Covid-19 pandemic on start-ups, small and medium businesses as well as the Technology Ecosystem in general.
The committee terms of reference include: “devise suitable strategies for the provision of affordable Internet access to individuals and businesses;
“Develop a framework to facilitate access to financing for tech and tech-enabled ventures; devise modalities for encouraging the development and adoption of digital technology use support policies in line with the ‘Work From Home’ directives of the federal government; and develop a support programme for Innovation Hubs to facilitate access to remote resources by startups during the work from home as well as other forms of support the hubs may require to be sustainable.
The committee is expected to submit its preliminary report today.
The DG charged the committee to consider the assignment as a call to national duty, especially at this critical time when the federal government is making all efforts to ensure the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as minimize its impact on the economy.
“In an effort to ensure the involvement of all stakeholders, especially tech and tech enabled start-ups, a stakeholder engagement instrument is developed,” NITDA head corporate affairs and external relations Mrs Hadiza Umar said in a statement.
In line with the social distancing measures aimed at minimizing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies were used for the inauguration.
The committee is chaired by Innovation Support Network (ISN); President African Business Angels Network (ABAN) Mr Tomi Davies as its chairperson.
Other members are Amal Hassan, MD/CEO, Outsource Global, Bosun Tijani, MD/CEO Co-Creation Hub (CCHub), Juliet Anammah, Chairperson Jumia Nigeria and Head, International Affairs, Jumia Group, Kola Aina, Founder, Ventures Platform, Musa Ali Baba, MD/CEO Teasy Pay, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Co-Founder, Andela, Collins Onuegbu, MD/CEO Signal Alliance and Dr Kalli Zannah, Special Assistant to the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji, the National Coordinator, Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), is to serve as Member/Secretary.
