Over $101 million was contributed to the Nigerian economy in the third quarter of 2018 by Information Technology (IT) start-ups in the country.
The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, disclosed this during the “Start-ups Friday” programme in Abuja.
Dr. Pantami, who said this achievement was unprecedented in the history of the ICT sector in the country, added that more amazing performances were expected in the sector in coming years..
He said in the second quarter of 2018, ICT contributed 13.63 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that this would likely increase in the third and fourth quarters.
he said, “With the little effort we have put in place, a lot has been achieved in the ICT sector today. In the case of our ICT start-ups, within the first quarter of 2018, start-ups generated $9m, in the second quarter, they generated $57m, and recently in the third quarter, they generated $35m.
“This is only within 2018. This achievement is unprecedented in the history of the ICT sector in Nigeria.”
The NITDA boss further disclosed that patronage of local IT content had significantly increased as a result of strict enforcement of policies in the sector.
He pointed out that in 2013, over 82,000 ICT facilities of the local content were purchased, adding that in 2014 and 2015, 92,000 facilities of hardware were purchased, while in 2016, he said 150,000 facilities were purchased and in 2017, the purchase of local content rose to 300,750.
He attributed the enforcement of IT policy as being responsible for the quantum leap in the sales of Nigeria’s local content, particularly the hardware component.
Speaking on the event, he said “We called this event ‘Start-up Friday’ but we are moving from one geo-political zone to the other; we did one each in the North West, South West, North East and South South and this is Abuja, North Central, and from here we will be moving to the South East.
“The wisdom behind this is to identify our young innovators who have potentials and see how they can be supported to achieve their dreams.”
