Developing the Capacity of
Nigerian IT Industry
Presentation by Peter Jack, DG NITDA
Summary
• Introduction
• Regulation to the Rescue
• Role of
• Government
• Role of MNCs
• Industry Players
• Recommendations
Regulation to the Rescue
• NITDA Act
• Subsidiary Legislation
• Section 6, 17, 18 and 32 of the NITDA Act
• Guidelines for Nigerian Content Development: the Story of the ONC (Office
for Nigerian Content Development in ICT
Role of NITDA and Government
• Chapter 15.2 enjoins NITDA to proactively assist Nigerian companies to improve
their processes and product quality
• CMMI certifications
• Encouragement of specialized trainings in IT and funding of Centers of Excellence
• AITI
• Software Engineering Centers of Excellence to produce 200 software engineers annually
• Technical & Vocational Skill Acquisition and Training Programme for IT practitioners and
small-scale vendors: Otigba and CAPDAN Iniative
• establish a Journal of Information and Communications Technology in Africa and
establish 500 million naira annual research fund to sponsor academic research
projects being conducted by Nigerian scholars and educational institutions across
the world which focus on developing the IT sector in the country.
Role of NITDA
• Establish technology incubation programs, start-up communities, ICT
clusters and other IT development networks to stimulate the growth of the
sector.
• Government at all levels ( under chapter 11 of the rules) shall source and
procure software from only local and indigenous software development
companies; where the capacity for developing such software does not exist
locally, procurement, installation and support will be provided by a
Nigerian company.
• Establish regional Information Technology tradeshows and trade missions
that will provide a platform to grow the local industry
• Create an institutional framework for the enforcement of the local content
policy and guidelines
Role of Multi National Companies
• Departure from mere marketing outposts
• Local R and D
• Value Adding Services
• Submit a Local Content Development Plan to NITDA for their
platforms and products as part of requirements for registration within
Nigeria and pre-qualification for any project to be carried out with
any MDAs. This applies to companies already registered and
operating within the country. ( chapter 11 of the Guidelines)
Role of Industry Players
• Industry self-regulation
• Chapter 14 of the Guidelines makes it mandatory for Data
Management Companies to host government data locally within the
country and shall not for any reason host any government data
outside the country without an express approval
Recommendations
• Support of the ONC
• Compliance with the Guidelines