Agency Plans Local Content For IT Industry

Plans are underway to put in place the requisite framework for empowering indigenous entrepreneurs to develop the IT industry with local content.

Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Prof. Cleopas Angaye,  made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

Angaye said in view of that, arrangements had been concluded to hold the Nigeria E-Government 2012 Conference from Nov. 20 to Nov. 22.

“The conference is targeted at developing strategies toward enhancing local content in IT development in Nigeria.’’

He said that local impute to IT development would contribute immensely to Nigeria’s GDP and also provide employment through outsourcing and other opportunities.

The director-general added that the conference also aims at developing strategies for leveraging on technology acquisition by Nigerians in the Diaspora for developing the IT industry.

To achieve this, Angaye said issues such as how to create the enabling environment for IT local content development, marketing made in Nigeria IT products and services would be discussed during the conference.

Others are value addition and wealth creation through IT local content as well as framework for developing human and infrastructural resources for local content.

Angaye urged Nigerians with ideas to develop local content in IT to attend the conference.

“We are hoping that the turn out for the conference will be high, as we have sent out invitations to people within and outside the country.

“It is a yearly conference where experts in various fields come together to see how we can take Nigeria forward by narrowing the digital divide,” Angaye said.

The three-day conference is schedule to take place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.