NITDA charges startups on innovative technologies to solve local problems

By Onome Amuge.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has  enjoined Nigerian startups to adopt disruptive technologies that can solve local and global problems to enhance operations.

Kashifu Inuwa, the director general, (NITDA), gave the charge during the 19th edition of the ICTEL Expo organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) themed ‘’Tech Disruption: Transforming Industries with Innovation” in Abuja recently.

Inuwa, in a statement issued by Hadiza Umar, NITDA’s head, corporate affairs and external relations, urged  startups to utilise disruptive technology in providing innovative solutions to facilitate business operations.

“That is the difference between just normal small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and you. We call you startups because you use the power of technology to build your business and become innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs).

“This implies that you start small, thinking of how you can solve a local problem but with the mindset of taking it to the global stage,” he noted.

The NITDA DG said the combination of existing data, unlimited connectivity, and massive processing power, could give tech innovators the leverage to disrupt anything they want to achieve.

He stated: “As startups, you need to be able to pitch your product to a new company, for people to use it to solve problems.

“You need to come and disrupt, use technology as a source of inspiration to disrupt businesses.”

Citing the success story of Flutterwave, Inuwa said the company saw a big gap and decided to fill it by using technological solutions that connect business-to-business transactions.

He, therefore, advised startups to focus more on providing solutions that can in turn generate money.

“Don’t follow the money, follow the solutions, and the money will follow you. So, look at what kind of problem you want to solve,” he said.