Nigeria plans nationwide AI and blockchain research centers

The National Information Technology Development Agency of the Nigeria government’s (NITDA) plans to open research centers. Throughout the six geographic zones of the nation, it primarily focuses on cutting-edge technology like blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

The idea unveiled by NITDA’s Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, at the opening of the IoT West Africa Conference and Exhibition in Lagos. Aristotle Onumo, Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy at NITDA, spoke on behalf of Inuwa, highlighting the organization’s dedication to building an effective environment for technology research.

Empowering the Innovations of Nigeria

The proposed research centers would focus on critical fields, including IoT, blockchain technology, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics. Moreover, NITDA intends to assist Nigerian companies in creating goods utilizing cutting-edge technologies, in addition to providing money for research.

The organization intends to establish innovation sandboxes to assist startups with use case development, business establishment, and product launch assistance.NITDA plays a crucial role in nurturing talent via the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative of the Nigerian government.By 2027, three million Nigerians will receive technical training and empowerment.

Inuwa stated that some skilled workers would depart the nation, thereby improving Nigeria’s ability to export talent and generate foreign cash through higher remittances. Additionally, IoT West Africa Conference & Exhibition organizers Vertex Next, led by managing director Shitij Taneja, emphasized Nigeria’s potential as “Africa’s next Silicon Valley.”

He highlighted the nation’s thriving startup environment and sizeable youth population as important elements. Furthermore, the conference hopes to draw investors to Nigerian businesses that are concentrating on emerging technologies. Notably, it is co-located with Africa Data Centre and Cloud Expo Africa.

Nigeria and the US have declared their plans to hold talks on AI, emerging technologies, and the digital economy to look into possible collaborations. Specifically, the discussions aim to strengthen economic ties between the two countries. Meanwhile, the Nigerian government is launching its first multilingual large language model to lead AI development in Africa.