The Nigerian government, through the National Information Technology Development Agency , has unveiled plans to establish research centers focused on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence , the internet of Things , and blockchain across the country’s six geopolitical zones.by NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, during the opening of the IoT West Africa Conference in Lagos.
“We are establishing a special-purpose vehicle that will look into these key areas and also establish research centers across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria that will be targeting these six key areas of emerging technologies.” In addition to funding research, NITDA aims to support Nigerian startups in developing products using these emerging technologies. The agency plans to create innovation sandboxes to help startups develop use cases, establish businesses, and bring their products to market.. The goal is to ensure that by 2027, three million Nigerians will have been technically trained and empowered.