Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali-Pantami has inaugurated members of the Advisory Board of the Abuja Team for the MIT- REAP, with a view to domesticating Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s proven frameworks for breeding entrepreneurs in the ICT sector of the country’s economy.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that MIT- REAP refers to Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme, REAP, promoted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT.
The team is made up of season professionals who are charged with the responsibility of domesticating MIT’s model for developing and sustaining indigenous entrepreneurship in the ICT sector.
While inaugurating the committee, the minister pledged the Federal Government’s commitment to leverage on Information Communications Technology and Entrepreneurship to increase job creation for Nigerian youth.
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Mr Pantami said: “In 2018, after a period of evaluating options on programmes that could help deepen the emerging innovativeness that we had observed among our youth; and catalyse economic growth and impact therein, a team of us decided that the REAP programme offered by MIT offered the best-proven example of such.
“In January 2019, we decided to make the application to MIT as Team Abuja.”
“REAP is not, and cannot be a short-term gimmick, but actions emanating from it can begin to take root now. It is strategic and will be incorporated into our Digital Transformation plans.
“Like most of African nations, 60 per cent of the population is youth; but there are not enough regular jobs (in government or companies) for the population.
“Though we have a good base of small and medium entrepreneurship, we need to play in the new economies for they are the drivers of future job growth.
“While regular small and medium entrepreneurs may employ from five to 10 persons, a scaled-up entrepreneurship can make that number 50 or more,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Director-General, National Information Technology Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, commended the minister for this great initiative and assured the minister that the agency would work closely to achieve the best.
Mr Inuwa, who has been advocating for the adoption of digital technological skills in the educational sector, was made one of the co-champions of the initiative.
