By Juliet Umeh
The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA has said it is set to collaborate with the World Bank and World Trade Organisation to propel Nigeria into a future where digital technology and economic growth could uplift the nation.
NITDA stated that it wants to achieve this by implementing the presidential priority areas of reforming the economy for sustained inclusive growth as well as accelerating diversification through industrialisation and digitisation.
This was made known when the DG NITDA Kashifu Inuwa CCIE played host to a delegation from the World Bank and the World Trade Organisation led by Mr. Aleksandar Stojanov at the agency’s corporate headquarters in Abuja.
The meeting was centered on fostering deep collaboration between the two organisations to enhance digital trade, cross-border data services.
Inuwa outlined the agency’s comprehensive plans and encapsulated the agency’s newly recrafted Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan, SRAP 2.0 for 2024-2027 as part of efforts toward implementing the presidential renewed hope priority areas in enhancing the country’s digital economy.
He said: “We started with recrafting our Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan 2.0 for 2024-2027 which has 8 strategic pillars among which is Strengthening Policy Implementation and Legal Framework and what we need to put in place to make sure we create an enabling environment for the digital economy and digital trade.”
He revealed that NITDA is at an advanced stage of establishing a National Public Key Infrastructure, PKI which will underpin the nation’s electronic signature framework. He disclosed that the framework’s development has involved extensive research into international best practices and substantial investment in necessary infrastructure.
NITDA DG said that efforts are underway to push for the enactment of a comprehensive digital economy bill that will incorporate the electronic signature framework and other critical regulatory instruments.
While emphasising the importance of blockchain technology in enhancing the security and efficiency of digital transactions, he averred that a broader blockchain policy is being developed, particularly to focus on the implementation of smart contracts.
Enunciating the upcoming data exchange platform designed to streamline and enhance messaging systems, Inuwa said: “We have the Nigerian Data Strategy which will create a balance between the protection and the viability of open data to promote innovation.
“Because even within the country, we need to allow people to have access to open data for them to innovate and for decision-making.”
Earlier in his address, Mr Stojanov shared their initial findings from the digital trade regulatory gap analysis conducted by the World Bank on the continent, particularly in Nigeria and how regulations can play a critical role in enhancing it.
He however gave assurances of the World Bank’s eagerness to collaborate and support NITDA in propelling digital trade and cross-border data services.
