CT MINISTRY SIGNS MOU WITH NOKIA

By Emeka Aginam
TO stimulate growth of Information Communication Technology ICT sector in Nigeria. the Ministry of Communication Technology has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nokia.

At the signing ceremony in Abuja last week, the Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson noted  that government would continue to partner with the private sector and industry players to stimulate socio-economic development and bridge the digital divide in the country.

The MOU was  one of several PPP initiatives being undertaken by the Ministry to foster innovation and development of the ICT sector in Nigeria.

According to her, the  Nigerian government  was very much aware of the potential ICTs can have on the development of the nation and is working to ensure that ICT is deployed as a tool to foster inclusive development and transform Nigeria into a digitalized economy.

She said that the Ministry is very much focused on creating incubation centers that will facilitate innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation in the country.

Earlier  in his remarks.  the  Vice President for Nokia West Africa and Central Africa, Mr James Rutherfoord stressed that despite the advent of GSM technology in Nigeria, a sizeable proportion of the population were yet to be connected by mobile, a development which he said impedes economic growth.

The partnership is expected to demonstrate the value of mobile enhanced services for the people of Nigeria and to support growth of indigenous innovation, resulting in solutions and services created by local application developers.

The objective of the MOU is broken into four parts. The Ministry and Nokia will collaborate in the area of mobile enabled corporate social investment initiatives and low cost solutions that benefit Nigerian students, government and consumers.