An advisory committee has been inaugurated by the Director-General of National Information Technology Development Agency NITDA, Mr. Kashifu Inuwa to lessen the impact of COVID-19 on the technology and innovation ecosystem.
The 10-Member advisory committee is to advise the government on measures to be taken to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on start-ups, small and medium businesses as well as the technology ecosystem in general.
The DG while inaugurating the committee indicated that the constitution of the Committee is at the instance of the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy charging them 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.
READ ALSO: COVID-19 Lockdown: FG Says Markets to open from 10am to 2pm daily
Inuwa noted that concerned with the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ICT sector, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, directed NITDA to urgently look into how the Federal Government can effectively provide the enabling environment for technology Start-ups and ICT businesses to help in mitigating the potential impact of the pandemic on their businesses.
The terms of reference of the advisory committee, as listed by the DG, includes 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 program 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.
He disclosed that “in line with the social distancing measures aimed at minimizing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital technologies were used for the inauguration.
It is also expected that the Committee will make effective use of digital technologies in carrying out this assignment. The Committee has been assigned 48 hours to submit its preliminary report,” the DG said.
It is also expected that the committee will make effective use of digital technologies in carrying out this assignment. The committee has been assigned 48 hours to submit its preliminary report.
Juliet Ekwebelam
