In line with the Digital Literacy and Skills Pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030 for a Digital Nigeria, the Nigerian Communication Commission( NCC) said it has embarked on digital literacy training for entrepreneurs across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, disclosed this during the NCC Special day at the 44th Kaduna International Trade Fair, organised by the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Industry (KADCCIMA).
Danbatta, who was represented by Mr Banji Ojo, Head of Consumer Protection and Advocacy of the NCC, said the aim was to equip small-scale business owners with the requisite skills and to generate ideas for the development of products and services that can be exported, to enable Nigeria to compete in the digital space globally.
Also, he said over the years, the NCC has continued to partner with KADCCIMA to leverage its trade fair platform to engage telecoms consumers and business owners who are based in North and rely on digital platforms for carrying out their daily personal and official activities.
Read also: The Remarkable Growth of Nigeria’s ICT Sector
The NCC digital literacy training would help SMEs leverage on new technologies
The NCC vice chairman stated that the current number of active mobile subscriptions in the country reached about 222,571 million while Internet subscribers have exceeded 154.8 million, with broadband penetration standing at 47.36 per cent as of December 2022 and Teledensity of 116.60 per cent.
“In Nigeria today, the number of active mobile subscriptions reached about 222,571 million at December 2022 and Teledensity of 116.60 per cent as at December 2022. Also, Internet subscribers have exceeded 154.8 million with broadband penetration standing at 47.36 per cent as at December, 2022. In this new environment, the competitiveness of Nigeria’s SMEs, for instance, depends on their ability to leverage new technologies by acquiring the necessary digital skills to do business on an international scale.”
“The steady growth of telecoms sector over the years with its pervasive positive impact on all other sectors of the economy in terms of increased automation of processes and digital transformation in service delivery has been remarkable. This, however, would not have been possible without you, telecoms consumers who are using the services daily.
“To sustain this, therefore, the NCC continues to create a conducive environment that stimulates deployment of robust telecoms/broadband infrastructure for improving the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) for telecoms consumers, be it individuals or corporates. This is because, as a country, we need robust telecoms infrastructure that will help our SMEs to transit to becoming Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-driven if we hope to be digitally competitive on the global stage,” he said.
NCC provides the digital stamina
Danbatta said that the commission recognises the fact that the telecommunications sector has been a strategic driver of the digital economy agenda of the Federal Government and will continue to provide the needed digital stamina to support the economy, especially the activities of the SMEs across Nigeria and beyond.
According to him, “Information Communications Technology (ICT) is not only one of the fastest growing industries – directly creating millions of jobs – but it is also an important enabler of innovation and development, as it provides the backbone infrastructure for transnational business.”
Danbatta noted that NCC’s regulatory efforts in deepening access to digital services would benefit Nigeria and make it competitive with other economies in the areas of job creation; contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth; the emergence of new services and industries; workforce transformation; and business innovation.
“It is in our response to ensuring that Nigeria is competitive in all these areas that the Commission continuously puts a number of regulatory measures in place to ensure seamless access by Nigerians to telecommunications services in order to deepen competitiveness of the Nigerian economy by making our SMEs digitally compliant.” He said.