Ict/Telecom
$15m ICT Venture Capital Fund Underway – Johnson
The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Mobolaji Johnson, said on Tuesday in Abuja that the Federal Government would soon launch a $15 million ICT venture capital fund.
Johnson disclosed this to newsmen after presenting the budget performance of her ministry to President Goodluck Jonathan.
She said that the fund, which would be substantially private-driven, would be used to finance commercially viable projects, ideas and initiatives in the ICT sector.
The minister said that the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) would anchor the fund and contribute about $3.6 million to it.
She said the balance of $11.4 million would be sourced from local and international investors, and that the fund would be managed by independent managers, who would work with the ICT incubation team.
Johnson said the managers would identify projects or initiative that “we believe are great ideas that will be commercially successful’’.
“We will use the initial capital development fund of 15 million dollars to fund the development of those ideas until they become commercially viable.”
“Basically, the reward is when they get a commercial viability and you sell them off or you do an Initial Public Offer (IPO) like they do with Facebook and all those companies where the returns go to the investors”.
“As we become more successful we will raise additional money.’’
The minister said that the country had yet to record the expected success in the telecommunication sector because of lack of necessary facilities.
According to her, the perceived success recorded with the increase in the number of telephone lines from 400,000 to 101 million was not enough when compared to other African countries.
She said that inadequate infrastructure was also responsible for the poor quality of service being rendered by service providers to the subscribers.
“When you look at the mobile penetration in Nigeria, we are about 60 per cent which is actually one of the lowest in Africa.
“What is the reason for the poor quality of service? It is the first part that I mentioned, poor infrastructure,’’ she said.
Johnson said that the United Kingdom with a population of about 67 million and less land mass, had over three million sq. km of fibre optic and 60,000 base station.
She said that Nigeria with about 167 million people had one million sq km of fibre optic and 20,000 base stations.
“The industry has grown very quickly and we are not building up infrastructure as quickly as we need to.
“And so what we need to do is to actually build infrastructure, and that is why we are working with the network operators to build infrastructure.”
The minister identified policies, the state governments and destructive tendency of Nigerians as part of the challenges facing the development of ICT infrastructure.
For instance, she said that the procedure for acquiring the right of way for the fibre optic in the states was “protracted, cumbersome and expensive.”
According to her, the Federal Government time limit for approval for right of way is 21 days with a cost of N145,000 per km, while some states charged between N1 million to N2 million per km to rollout the fibre in their domain.
The minister said that there were also reports of willful damage to telecom infrastructure by saboteurs.
She said that 9.8 per cent of the ministry’s N9.2 billion capital budget had been released, while only 16.5 per cent of the amount released had been used.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has assured Nigerians of accessible, resilient and safe digital space in the nation’s digital economy.
The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, NCC, Rimini Makama, gave the assurance at the NCC’s Digital Economy Sensitisation Forum, with the theme, “Leaving No One Behind: Digital Access, Equity and Empowerment” in Abuja.
Makama said that the commission remained committed to ensuring that Nigeria’s national telecommunications infrastructure remained resilient, accessible and secure.
“Digital empoScientists Advocate Shared Responsibility To Boost Food Securitywerment must be inclusive. Without inclusion and equity, the benefits of the digital economy will remain unevenly distributed.
“The commission, through its Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and other initiatives, is actively extending digital opportunities to the unserved, underserved, physically challenged and vulnerable groups through several impactful programmes,” he said.
The Publicity Expert for the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr Nihinlola Fefa, said that the association had been an advocate of cyber security awareness and sensitisation over the years.
“ATCON has been a very key stakeholder in the ICT and telecom industry. We have always advocated for cybersecurity awareness and sensitisation.
“We have been giving our own input over the years. We interface with all the telecom companies. We do a lot of studies, and we also give our contributions in so many ways,” she said.
She commended the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, for deploying technology into rural communities.
According to her, though Nigeria is doing well in the area of cybersecurity, there is room for improvement.
“We are in a good position right now and we can do better from the government side,” she said.
Also speaking, the Head, IT and Cybersecurity, National Data Protection Commission (NDPC), Olorunisomo Isola, said that the commission had rolled out the necessary framework.
An economist, Dr Chinedu Amadi, has urged Nigerians to leverage the opportunities inherent in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to become competitive in the global business and social spaces.
Amadi, who is also the President, Organisation of Youth in International Trade and Commerce (OY-ITC), gave the urge during an interview with newsmen , in Abuja, Monday.
Amadi noted that humanity has always advanced by expanding its intelligence and capabilities through technology across different eras pointing out that AI now drives economic systems, social interactions and competitive advantage among nations globally.
“The world is entering a phase where humans and intelligent machines will share cognitive functions, so Nigeria should innovate or risk being sidelined in the emerging global digital order.
“The next frontier extends beyond AI tools to a deeper relationship between human consciousness and machine intelligence. This phase has the dawn of shared human machine cognition shaping future innovation and development worldwide,” he said.
Amadi noted that countries like the U.S., Japan and China already integrated AI into national planning, logistics and defence operations.
He warned that a deeper wave of collaboration between humans and intelligent systems is rapidly emerging
urging Nigeria and other African nations not to remain passive observers in this technological transition.
“Nigeria must innovate urgently or risk missing another major industrial revolution. Future global leadership will favour nations that create, regulate and ethically manage advanced technologies,” he added.
He said that the youthful population is viewed as a potential cognitive economy capable of driving digital creativity.
He advised policymakers and institutions to develop indigenous technologies, reflecting national priorities and moral values.
The president, however, noted that energy and agricultural sector can gain efficiency through predictive AI and advanced computation, adding that governance can also benefit from digital systems that strengthen transparency and curb corruption.
While noting that neural interfaces and quantum processing would soon merge human thought with computationAmadi said that the evolution demands ethical guidance, empathy and deeper human conscience in education system.
According to him, nations worldwide are racing to regulate AI and Nigeria also needs to define its strategic position.
“The future beyond AI will favour societies that balance innovation with wisdom and uphold human dignity,” he said.
The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited says the country’s digital broadcast subsector has expanded by 35 per cent to 75 per cent utilisation in two years.
This, it said, represented a milestone in the country’s digital transformation drive.
The Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT, Mrs Jane Egerton-Idehen, made the remark at a retreat with the theme: ‘Aligning for the Future: Innovation, Collaboration, and Sustainable Growth”, in Abuja, Monday.
According to her the theme reflects NIGCOMSAT’s commitment to driving Nigeria’s digital transformation and positioning itself as a global satellite industry leader.
She said one of the notable achievements in its broadcast segment was the Digital Switch Over (DSO) project, describing it as not just a technical milestone but also a national service.
“This growth is a testament to the organization’s improved service delivery and stronger engagement with partners and clients.
“The DSO project, a collaborative effort with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), is a key milestone in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
“NIGCOMSAT’s contribution to the project is enabling digital broadcasting penetration across the federation, cementing the organisation’s position at the centre of Nigeria’s digital transformation,” she said.
Egerton-Idehen said the achievements were expected to drive revenue growth, with target of three billion naira in annual revenue and eight billion naira in revenue within three years adding that the organisation’s expansion of broadband services and private sector partnership was key to achieving the goals.
“We cannot move boldly into the future without addressing the weight of the past. Our debt profile — both financial and operational — is a reality we must confront with strategy, discipline, and creativity.
“These are our headwinds. We acknowledge them openly because honesty is the first step toward transformation.,” Egerton-Idehen said.
She said in spite of challenges such as economic barriers and competition, the organisation remained optimistic about the future.
“We must out-innovate the market, deepen partnerships, and build a culture of solution-focused, profit-driven, and people-centered excellence.”
“The key initiatives include transitioning to software-defined satellites, expanding broadband services, and the NIGCOMSAT Accelerator for the Space Ecosystem.
“The organisation is prioritising public-private partnerships, branding, and communication, as well as investing in its people,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer, Data Science Nigeria, Olubayo Adekanbi, said satellite-based economy could revolutionise key sectors such as agriculture, health, and education, creating new job opportunities and increasing productivity.
“By providing internet access to remote areas, satellite technology can bridge the digital divide and ensure no one is left behind.
