Microsoft Corporation has disclosed plans to partner with the Federal Government to develop the technology ecosystem of the country.
Microsoft, which would be joining other global technology giants such as Google, Huawei, and Facebook, to empower young people in Nigeria, made this known during a virtual with Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday.
A statement issued after the meeting on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, said Microsoft is now offering support for the digital transformation goals of the Federal Government’s Economic Sustainability Plan.
This will be in addition to the establishment of an African Technology Development Centre in Lagos in 2020.
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Osinbajo at the meeting said the company’s interest in supporting the efforts of the Federal Government was a welcome development and could be leveraged to address issues affecting the youths, especially in engaging them productively.
Speaking on the need to constantly engage with the youths, the Vice President noted that Nigeria’s case was peculiar given that the youths constituted a larger percentage of the country’s population.
“It seems to me that there is just a wave of general anger around the world and people are generally impatient. Impatient with government, impatient with practically all of the formal structures there are,” he added.
“But I am open and happy to hear what views there might be on trying to engage and engage even more with young people (and in our case, that is 70 per cent of our population, if not more).
“So, we are really talking not just about the youth population but the Nigerian populace because that is the majority. So, whatever it is that we are able to deploy to be more inclusive, to engage, even more, is really a solution for the entire populace as opposed to a solution for just a segment of our population especially given the fact that young people constitute 70 per cent or even more.”
Earlier in his remarks, Microsoft President, Mr Brad Smith, noted that his company’s vision for investment in Nigeria was one that would lead to the creation of Africa’s most viable technology ecosystem.
Smith said the company’s investment in Nigeria was a demonstration of its enthusiasm about the digital transformation ongoing in Nigeria.
He proposed a 90-day timeline for stakeholders on the government side and from Microsoft, to iron out details of the various areas of collaboration.
On his part, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, said the Federal Government had already put in place the necessary structures to partner with Microsoft and other tech companies in developing Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
He said the National Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship Policy, the National Policy on E-governance, among others, have been adopted by the Buhari administration to support the growth of technology and innovation in the country.
