The Entrepreneurship Village (eVillage) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) will work together to promote technological innovation and inclusion in the nation.
This came to light during a meeting between Sunil Santanam, CEO of the eVillage, and Kashifu Inuwa, DG NITDA, at the agency’s Abuja headquarters. Santanam and his team were seeking the agency’s intervention regarding the digital infrastructure of the eVillage Innovation and Transformation Centre.
The partnership between the two groups is in line with the “Infrastructure” component of the digital economy and communications ministry’s plan to boost national wealth through technological efficiency, which aims to speed up the process overall.
Read also: NITDA bill not targeted at telecoms businesses – NITDA
According to Inuwa, the partnership is in line with the goals of the Agency’s recently developed Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP 2024–2027), which include fostering an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem, expanding access to digital infrastructure and services for all, and establishing a strong research ecosystem for technology.
He went on to say that he thinks this could be a great place for technological advancement, explaining that in his experience, a tech development zone is more about bringing people together, building an ecosystem that can start conversations about technology, and how it can solve real-world problems than it is about bringing large pieces of hardware or manufacturing equipment.
Despite the Agency’s reservations, Inuwa is optimistic about the planned technology development zone because he sees it as an opportunity to spur massive, game-changing innovation in the nation.
Accelerating the technology development zone across the six geopolitical zones of the nation is central to the partnership proposal, and Inuwa disclosed that a memorandum of understanding would formalise all the arrangements between the two organisations.
Santanam began his statement by thanking the NITDA DG and his staff for the opportunity to work with the Village.
He insisted that the big young population and the entrepreneurial ecosystem would benefit greatly from taking advantage of the Village’s opportunities.
Allegedly, it’s a big deal for Nigeria, the country’s youth, and its entrepreneurs, and eVillage’s infrastructure and amenities will be unmatched in Africa.
The director of initiatives and partnerships for the village, Joy Francis, offered some thoughts on the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Festival in November during her speech.
She promised that this gathering would unite people from all over the world and lay the groundwork for an entrepreneurial ecosystem that would be there for generations to come.
Read also: NITDA sues the Paradigm Initiative
About eVillage
The E-Village is a multi-use complex that houses residential areas, offices, a commercial district, a television and radio studio, classrooms, a sports complex, and accelerators and incubators for various industries.
Anyone residing, studying, working, or visiting the E-Village will have access to all essential services throughout their lifetime thanks to this community-driven project. It is a community of high-end residential areas, schools, business accelerators, tourist hotspots, and offices.
If multinational tech companies were to set up shop in the IT hub, it would be a boon to the local economy. It would be great to have international leaders from different industries as well.
Attracting entrepreneurial-minded individuals from all over the globe, the E-Village is Nigeria’s first business estate and a sanctuary for academics, real estate, lifestyle, tourism, innovation, technology, and creativity. A healthy lifestyle that promises to add ten years to one’s life, perimeter security, social networking opportunities, and electricity that is available 24 hours a day are all features of the Eco-Friendly environment.