The Minister of Communications, Isa Pantami, and leader of the Nigerian delegation to the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition, GITEX 2019, has congratulated the overall global winner of startup innovation competition, Abdulkarim Bashir.
A statement by the minister’s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, said the young Nigerian defeated 750 other contestants from 73 countries at the biggest technology and innovation show in the Middle East, Africa and Asia with his Artificial Intelligence security solution Chiniki Guard, aimed at detecting and alerting business owners of security breaches in their shops.
According to the statement, the minister commended the efforts of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, for its relentless support, encouragement and motivation by providing sponsorship for the country’s young innovators to the event.
Mr Pantami also praised the immense contributions of the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship, OIIE, a subsidiary arm of NITDA, towards the development of indigenous technology innovation in Nigeria.
“NITDA as regulator of the IT Sector has continued to empower, promote and invest in young talent in the industry through the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE) in a bid to drive the President’s vision for technological advancement in Nigeria.
“This is a national success worthy of celebration as our efforts have begun yielding the desired results. The success is a clear testimony of the commitment of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in promoting our youths and other Nigerians as prioritised by the Executive Orders 003 and 005,” said the minister.
Mr Pantami further stated that “We will continue to support and encourage Local Content Development and Promotion in our determination to transform our economy from a resource – based to a knowledge – based society”
The minister therefore directed NITDA and OIIE to continue to monitor and support the winner and other tech startups and ensure the deployment of their solutions in Nigeria.
