ABOUT 20
leading Information and Communication Technology firms on Monday stormed Lagos
to form a business partnership with players in the Nigeria’s ICT industry.
The
Indian firms, under the auspices of the National Association of Computer and
Software Companies of Indian (NASSCOM), were in a day-long business discussion
with the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), which represents
IT firms in the country.
With the
theme ‘Empowering and Resuscitating Local IT Entrepreneurs via Local Content
Development and Funding’, stakeholders, who attended the business summit,
discussed various areas of partnership relating to technology transfers,
domestication, deployment of local latent by Indian firms and the need to
support local IT entrepreneurs to grow.
Speaking
at the forum, the President, ITAN, Mrs. Florence Seriki, said the objective of
the summit, which is a yearly meeting between the two bodies, was to serve as a
statement of need to sustain the creation of platform for local ICT
organisations to synergise and collaborate among key international ICT players.
She said:
“We want to grow into partnership with Indian firms and go into localising some
of the technologies foreign IT firms are producing and bringing into Nigeria.
“Indeed,
our goal ultimately is to bridge the digital divide in competitive capacity
development of the local enterprises, by also creating education, by also
creating education opportunities, influencing policy formulations in ICT
development, promotion. And enhancement of the Nigerian ICT industry with other
relevant stakeholders.”
She
explained further that local ICT companies currently deserve a lot of private
and public sector support in terms of increasing their demand for goods and
services supplied, and engendering adequate partnership to promoting local
content.
Also
speaking, the President of NASSCOM, Mr. Som Mittal, who noted that NASSCOM
represents about 1, 300 Indian companies in Indian, said Nigeria had been
identified as a country with large market whose potential for ICT revolution
can be bolstered through the right partnerships with local companies.
“We are
committed to healthy partnership with our Nigerian counterparts. Our
investments in Nigeria have been continuous and we would ensure that we work
with local partners to engage in developing both the Indian market and the
Nigerian economy in the area of ICT,” he said.
The
Director-General of the National Office for Technology Promotion and
Development, NOTAP, Mr. Buba Bindir, pointed stressed the need for the Indian
firms to do business in Nigeria in line with the regulatory and legal
provisions in Nigeria.
The Guardian Nigeria