Indian
firms, under the auspices of the National Association of Computer and Software
Companies of Indian, (NASSCOM), were in Nigeria last week to seek collaboration
with the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) on local content
development in Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
With the theme 'Empowering and Resuscitating Local IT Entrepreneurs via Local Content Development and Funding', stakeholders, who attended the business summit between both associations, discussed various areas of partnership relating to technology transfers, domestication, deployment of local talent by Indian firms and the need to support growth of local IT entrepreneurs.
President of ITAN, Mrs. Florence Seriki, while welcoming her Indian counterparts, said the summit was an annual meeting that was billed to be hosted in Nigeria, which aimed at sustaining the platform created for local ICT organizations to synergize and collaborate among key international ICT players.
According to Seriki "We want to grow partnership with Indian firms and go into localizing some of the technologies that foreign IT firms are producing and bringing into Nigeria. The aim is to bridge the digital divide through competitive capacity development of the local enterprises, by creating opportunities for education, and influencing policy formulations in ICT development, and enhancing the Nigerian ICT industry."
She said local ICT companies in Nigeria currently deserved a lot of private and public sector support in terms of increasing their demand for goods and services supplied, and engendering adequate partnership to promote local content.
Leader of the Indian delegation, and President of NASSCOM, Mr. Som Mittal, who noted that NASSCOM represents about 1, 300 Indian companies, said Nigeria had been identified as a country with large market whose potential for ICT revolution could receive boost 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, stressed the need for the Indian firms to do business in Nigeria in line with the regulatory and legal provisions in Nigeria.
According to him, "Nigeria has been recording a lot of capital flight especially through ICT and we are ready to turn this around through proper licensing of any foreign IT technologies and solutions coming to Nigeria."
The President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Lanre Ajayi and the Chairman, Teledom Group, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, expressed satisfaction with the partnership and called for its sustainability through stronger ties.
THISDAY Nigeria