Digital Revolution: NCC Targets SPIDER Initiative to Enhance ICT Development, Broadband Penetration

Malik Yahya/

In its quest to enhance Information and Communication Technology (ICT) capacity development and broadband penetration in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday hosted the Swedish Ambassador to ECOWAS, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria, Mr. Carl Grans at its Head Office in Abuja.

The purpose of the meeting was to explore how Nigeria can take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Swedish Programme for ICT Development in Emerging Regions (SPIDER), a dedicated programme instituted to provide capacity building in emerging markets. 

According to a statement by the Commission today, the development was in line with it’s 8-Point Agenda, one of the pillars of which focuses on “Strategic Collaborations and Partnership towards accelerating digital access and skills development in the country”.

While receiving the Ambassador and team, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, reportedly said the meeting was at the instance of the Commission, based on it’s assessment of the offer for capacity development and focus of the SPIDER Programme.

Danbatta disclosed that the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority (PTS) had earlier trained some Nigerians and therefore expressed the Commission’s conviction that further collaboration to build capabilities of Nigerians on ICT will increase human resources and capacity in the ICT sector towards deepening broadband penetration. 

The EVC stated that further capacity building of Nigerians on ICT tools and skills will start with agencies in the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy (FMoCDE) in the context of train-the-trainer arrangement, and the beneficiaries in the agencies will proceed to train other Nigerians. 

Danbatta thanked the Swedish government for the capacity building programmes and reiterated that one of the priorities of the Nigeria Government is to facilitate the migration of millions of Nigerians out of poverty traps through ICT capacity development, skill impartation and effectively driving the digital economy processes.

“We hope that the Embassy will continue to facilitate this kind of intervention to NCC and other agencies of government in Nigeria and Africa, and we also hope to benefit from the wealth of experience especially of Sweden, being a leading broadband market,” the EVC said.

Grans acknowledged that Nigeria is ready for the digital revolution considering the approval given to conduct 5G tests recently.

The “5G technology and Internet of Things (IoT) are crucial to transforming the industry and production in a way that can’t really be seen yet, but a digital revolution is really imminent worldwide,” Grans added.

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