Indian ICT firms seek new opportunities in Nigeria

Ben Uzor Jr

               

With investments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in excess of N3 trillion within the last eight years, Nigeria is clearly investors’ preferred destination. In line with this, about 20 leading Indian ICT firms came into the country last week with a view to seeking new business opportunities in Nigeria’s burgeoning ICT industry. The Indian firms, under the auspices of the National Association of Computer and Software Companies of Indian (NASSCOM), engaged in a day-long deliberation with Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), which represents IT firms in the country, aimed at forging business partnerships.

With the theme ‘Empowering and Resuscitating Local IT Entrepreneurs via Local Content Development and Funding’, stakeholders, who attended the business summit, considered various areas of partnership relating to technology transfers, domestication, deployment of local talent by Indian firms and the need to support local IT entrepreneurs to improve growth. Speaking at the forum, Florence Seriki, president, ITAN, said the objective of the summit, which is an annual meetings between the two bodies, was to serve as a statement of need to sustain the creation of platform for local ICT firms to collaborate among key global ICT players.

India’s IT industry has gained a brand identity as a knowledge economy due to its ITES (IT Enabled Services) sector. Over the years, the growth of India’s service sector has been led by the IT–ITES sector, contributing substantially to increase in GDP, employment, and exports. The sector has increased its contribution to India’s GDP from 1.2 percent in FY1998 to 7.5 percent in FY2012. According to NASSCOM, the IT-BPO (IT Business Process Outsourcing) sector in India aggregated revenues of $100 billion in FY2012, where export and domestic revenue stood at $69.1 billion and $31.7 billion respectively, growing by over 9 percent.

Stakeholders at the summit were all agreed that for the country not to experience stunted economic growth and successfully transit to a digital economy there is need to harness ICT as a major enabler. The ITAN president said: “We want to grow into partnership with Indian firms and go into localising some of the technologies foreign IT firms are producing and bringing into Nigeria. “Indeed, our goal ultimately is to bridge the digital divide in competitive capacity development of the local enterprises, by also creating education, by also creating education opportunities, influencing policy formulations in ICT development, promotion. And enhancement of the Nigerian ICT industry with other relevant stakeholders.”

She explained further that local ICT companies currently deserve a lot of private and public sector support in terms of increasing their demand for goods and services supplied, and engendering adequate partnership to promoting local content. Also speaking, Som Mittal, President of NASSCOM, who noted that the group represents about 1, 300 Indian companies, said Nigeria had been identified as a country with large market whose potential for ICT revolution can be bolstered through forging appropriate partnerships with local companies. “We are committed to healthy partnership with our Nigerian counterparts. “Our investments in Nigeria have been continuous and we would ensure that we work with local partners to engage in developing both the Indian market and the Nigerian economy in the area of ICT,” he said.

Buba Bindir, director-general of the director-general of the National Office for Technology Promotion and Development (NOTAP), stressed the need for the Indian firms to do business in Nigeria in line with requisite regulatory and legal provisions. He also tasked them to bring necessary funding, technology and technical know-how to assist in bridging Nigeria’s digital divide. According to him, “Nigeria has been recording a lot of capital flight in the economy, especially through ICT and we are ready to turn this around through proper licensing of any foreign IT technologies and solutions coming to Nigeria.” Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Emmanuel Ekuwem, chairman, Teledom Group, stressed the need to always engage in impact assessment of the partnership between the two countries in order to always measure the progress being made.