FG to establish emerging technology centres to drive blockchain adoption - Isa Pantami

This was made known by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami during the Digital Africa Annual Conference with the theme: "Building A New Africa with AI and Blockchain."

He stated that the government was working toward establishing innovation centres that would explore capacity-building protocols for artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, cloud computing, and blockchain technology, among other fields.

He noted that the seventh pillar of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) focuses exclusively on developing emerging technologies among the populace.

"The development of a National Policy on Emerging Technologies, as part of NDEPS, which will further support the establishment of Emerging Technology Centre's in Nigeria is underway.

In addition, we are establishing a National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre, the first National ICT Park and have established a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.

The primary objective of these is to create an atmosphere that would usher in innovation-driven culture among the Nigerian populace. We are also actively preparing to take advantage of Blockchain technologies for our digital economy, and we recently developed a National Blockchain Adoption Strategy," he said.

On the issue of privacy and data security concerns, Dr Pantami noted that with the transition to digital platforms, "it is crucial that we ensure privacy and the safety of online transitions. This is the focus of the Soft Infrastructure pillar.

Privacy concerns that result from digitization are also being addressed in the Soft Infrastructure pillar, through the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) 2019 and the Guidelines for the Management of Personal Data by Public Institutions 2020.ÔÇ│

The minister also addressed the need to expand broadband infrastructure, provide people with digital skills, and also providing an enabling environment for digital entrepreneurs to thrive. According to him, "It is therefore imperative that we work together towards achieving our national and regional development plans in building the Africa we want."