The Edo State Government has attributed the transformation of the state in the past seven-and-half years to investment in technology sector.
BusinessDay reports that Kelvin Uwaibi, managing director, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), made the remarks while speaking with newsmen in Benin City on his return from the second annual Africa Business Forum in Tallinn, Estonia.
Uwaibi opined that the public sector reforms of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government have positively impacted businesses and repositioned government agencies to thrive in a globally competitive environment.
The ESIPO boss said the theme of the forum was, ‘Building Pathways to Partnerships.’
He noted that the investments in the technology sector have boosted the government’s revolutionary e-government structure, that enabled Edo State Government workers to work remotely and efficiently.
According to him, investments in the technology sector in Edo State have further enhanced governance and the business environment.
“These include laying an additional 2,000 kilometres of fiber optics to connect all 18 local government areas with internet access and constructing a tier four data centre.
“Additionally, our public sector reforms facilitated by our revolutionary e-government structure, enable Edo State Government staff to work remotely and efficiently. This reform includes providing laptops to government employees and, in collaboration with our partners, training 3,000 staff members in ICT,” he said.
While corroborating the position of
Olatunbosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Technology, he posited that the private sector is crucial in developing Nigeria’s technology infrastructure.
Uwaibi also noted that innovation can occur more swiftly in Africa compared to more developed regions due to less entrenched legacy infrastructure.
He, however, stressed the need for improvement in the potential of data harmonization, which he noted that could be achieved through the Estonia X-Road model.
The ESIPO managing director, who said he was encouraged to see many entrepreneurs in Estonia expressing interest in conducting business in Nigeria, added that the state government plan to follow up with the entrepreneurs
He commended the Africa Leadership Fellowship for facilitating the event organised by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union Programme ‘NextGenerationEU.’
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