Start-ups in Information Technology contributed $101m to the Nigerian economy in the first three quarters of the year, the National Information Technology Development Agency, has said.
The Director -General of NITDA, Isah Ibrahim Pantami, said this at a pitch by new ICT companies during a programme – Start-up Friday – organised by the IT development agency in Abuja to galvanise innovations in the ICT sector.
The NITDA boss said start-up in the industry contributed a total of $9m to the economy in the first three months of the year.
According to him, the contribution of the start-ups went up to $57m in the second quarter and dipped to $35m in the third quarter of the year.
He said, “With the little efforts we have put in place, a lot has been achieved in the ICT sector today. In the case of our ICT start-ups, within the first quarter of 2018, start-ups generated $9m; in the second quarter, they generated $57m and recently in the third quarter, they generated $35m.
“This is only within 2018. This achievement is unprecedented in the history of ICT sector in Nigeria.”
Pantami also disclosed that the patronage of locally manufactured IT products and services had increased as a result of the implementation of buy Nigeria policy articulated by the Federal Government.
He said NITDA had to report some defaulting agencies to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
According to him, after EFCC had grilled some defaulting heads of MDAs, government purchase of locally made ICT products and services witnessed a tremendous increase.
Source: Concise.global