Agenda for FG’s Technology and Creativity Advisory Group [ICT Clinic]

Nigeria certainly does not lack the brainpower or ideas required to transform the country for the better. Where we have always missed the mark is in turning ideas into action plans and even when we plan, the execution is simply poor.

It gladdens my heart that the Federal Government recently inaugurated the Technology and Creativity Advisory Group. The new group recently inaugurated by the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was set up under the aegis of the Nigerian Industrial and Competitiveness Advisory Council to provide specific solutions to several technology and creativity challenges in the country.

The ultimate objective of the group is to develop an all-inclusive platform that will serve as a launch pad for start-ups in the technology and creativity industries.

One question on my mind though, is what would this group do differently? I must confess, however, that the array of professionals, many of them personally known to me, inspires confidence in the group’s ability to deliver.

How well will some of their recommendations be accepted and executed is the question that remains to be answered.

It is one thing to assemble innovative entrepreneurs and policy makers for a worthy purpose; it is quite another to get them beyond the round table, to rolling up their sleeves and getting the job done.

This group will either go the way of others and become history, or at best, assume the status of a reference point, if it is not guided properly. This is what I intend to do in today’s piece as a key stakeholder because actionable results that will provide Nigerian youths with the hope of a better future is what really matters most. Below are some actionable agenda that can serve as a guide:

1. Power is absolutely important

The lack of adequate power supply is completely sad. Technological innovation is almost impossible without power and this is the foundation upon which we can build on.

It is in the best interest of the group to continually let the government understand that attempting to innovate without basics like power and broadband is like passing through a burning flame and only a few can make it to the other side.

Put simply, without constant electricity, creativity cannot grow beyond a certain point and the technology industry cannot properly develop as well.

2. Set up an innovation fund

Thousands of business ideas float around in the head of the average Nigerian youth but these ideas soon die out when there is no fund to — Finish Reading on the Punch