Inuwa said this while giving a keynote address at the summit on the theme: “Digital Technology: Key to Sustainable Future”, encouraging the youths to see Tech as the present and the future of today’s world.

“When you talk about innovation and technology, human talents constitute the major components to drive the two, as such, we need universities, institutions and corporate organizations to be part of the system because they play a key role in producing the needed talents that can solve identified problems the society”, he noted.

Inuwa enumerated efforts of the Federal Government in the areas of policy-making, creation of enabling environment, legislation, digital literacy, among others, which he stressed are all geared towards ensuring young innovators and entrepreneurs in the country thrive in their chosen fields.

“In 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari redesignated the Ministry to cover Digital Economy, what that action entails is that the Federal Government is interested in the strength of your ingenuity and wants you to leverage on Information Technology (IT) for economic prosperity. The action also puts Nigeria on the digital map of the global economy”, he affirmed.  

Inuwa went further to remind the young minds that President Muhammadu Buhari also unveiled the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria which is a foundation policy for the digital economy and digital Innovation.

NITDA, on its part, the Director-General pointed out, drafted the Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP), under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy to help them succeed.

He analysed the seven pillars of the document where he mentioned that the essence of the Digital Literacy and Skills Pillar is to ensure that 95% of Nigerians are digitally inclined, can understand and enjoy digital services.

Inuwa added that the bigger picture is to build the Nation’s digital services in the country and not to buy off-the-shelf services elsewhere, and challenged the youths to think globally while solving local problems.

“The government cannot give everyone seed funds or grants at the same time, which is the reason why you need to think outside the box and have something an investor would be interested in, that way, you would have had the needed funds to grow your products and services without the encumbrances of the sometimes tiring government bureaucracies”, he advised.

The NITDA Boss expressed the hope that some of the participants who were majorly youths of the state will be among the 1 million developers the agency plans to train in 18 months.

“Globally, there is a shortage of talents, so, we are creating a mandate to develop a talent strategy because we have a competitive advantage as a country with our vast human and natural resources. Nigeria can seize the opportunity to fill that gap”, the DG added

The DG further noted that innovation will help in creating a sustainable future for Nigeria and Nigerians.  

“Digital technology provides the source of inspiration for you to be great innovators and solve any problem you can think of”, Inuwa said.

He also observed the world’s growing dependence on technologies to be able to do or  avoid certain things, adding that the data created by the daily activities of humans which are being captured by digital devices can be used to innovate.

“Data is said to be the new oil, but for me, it is more than oil because data is infinite, the more you use it, the more you create it. So, this is an opportunity for you to tap in to it and so we can achieve the sustainable future we seek”, Inuwa maintained.

Inuwa informed the participants that the Start-up Bill which is now a law and to be implemented by NITDA and other relevant agencies will address most, if not all the bottlenecks experienced in the ecosystem.

Acting on the agency’s mandate, the Director General made a commitment of providing a Digital Centre for St. Peters Anglican Primary School, 1 Isara, Remo North, Ogun State.

The participants took turns to share their thoughts and challenges as well as proffered some solutions to the issues discussed during the panel sessions.

The third edition of Ogun Digital Summit which brought together citizens of the state with the aim to connect and encourage inspiration to create new opportunities through innovation had as it’s theme: “DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY-KEY TO SUSTAINABLE FUTURE”.

The influence has become so eroding and enormous, such that digital revolution and digital wave have become buzzwords in today’s business world. Be it large or small enterprises, business owners are left with no choice than to integrate digital technology into their strategy. 

If your business is not in the digital space, you are simply not fit for today’s competitive market dictated by dynamic customers. The market is no longer waiting for customers, as products and services are now tailored to meet the customers where they are located.

This, to a large extent, is why the e-commerce ecosystem is growing exponentially. Technology has successfully established a virtual market where millions of sellers meet consumers. In return, the ease and convenience of the shopping endears the medium to customers. It has thus become imperative for product manufacturers to embrace the digital space if they are to fully exploit their target market.

Covid-19 and the restriction it imposed on global logistics showed manufacturers the effectiveness of the digital space. It is therefore not surprising that the wave of business-to-business e-commerce is sweeping through the informal retail sector and making a notable impact in the Nigerian space, with a number of companies such as Alerzo providing suitable channels. 

The informal retail market had existed for ages amidst loads of challenges, such as lack of investments, disruption and innovation. It is a cash-based market that is largely unregulated and renowned for its unstable market prices. 

The role of several intermediaries also creates complexity across the value chain, the brunt of which is felt mostly by the retailers. Manufacturers, on the other hand, cannot reach retailers in every nook and cranny. Hence, the market has several challenges begging for solutions.

Adewale Opaleye, the CEO of Alerzo Limited, one of the major B2B e-commerce players in the country, said the market holds enormous potential, but the problems need to be addressed with technology to fully open up the sector. As a market aggregator with manufacturers and distributors as partners, the services of Alerzo have far reaching impact and benefits for all stakeholders in the value chain. Their intervention is making the market more effective and robust.

The implication of this on the market is that, with the technical facilities of the likes of Alerzo, and other e-commerce market players, FMCG products have safer, faster and more effective routes to informal retailers who are the primary market targets. Suffice to say that global manufacturers such as Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Reckitt Benckiser, Dangote, Dufil, PZ Cussons and others are able to reach a wider market through digital technology.

E-commerce companies, by their nature of business, are asset-heavy which makes them part of the solutions to the perennial infrastructure problems in the sector.

Market scan showed that the majority of the companies playing in the Nigerian informal retail markets provide warehousing and fulfilment solutions to suppliers. Some e-commerce companies have said they own hundreds of vehicles and warehouses which are open to serve thousands of retailers and suppliers on their platforms.

Coupled with their ability to penetrate rural communities, manufacturers and distributors can also benefit from the increasing investment in logistics by B2B e-commerce firms. These platforms transport the ordered goods from manufacturers’ and distributors’ warehouses to the target retailers, scattered all over the country. In many cases, the service comes at no cost to the manufacturers. 

Though they mostly roll out in regional markets, it has been observed that some e-commerce brands are expanding their reach to other regions of the country. This makes them a veritable vehicle through which some product manufacturers can make in-road into other regions of the country.

The activities of B2B e-commerce companies are complementary, and highly needed in a market that had been hugely underserved for decades. This holds true as both manufacturers and distributors can take advantage of the opportunities B2B e-commerce companies provide.

With both digital and physical routes now open in the informal retail market, this sector of the Nigerian economy is surely one to look out for, as Nigeria strides towards achieving the digital economy projections of 2030.