NIGCOMSAT Says Digital Transformation Key to Unlocking Nigeria’s Economy

Gideon Arinze in Enugu

The Nigeria Communication Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) has said digital transformation and innovation could turn the Nigerian economy around and tackle rising level of youth unemployment.

NIGCOMSAT also said plans were underway to establish the regional centre for Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the UNN.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NIGCOMSAT, Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, made this known yesterday, while delivering the 20th Herbert Macaulay Memorial Lecture organised by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nigeria Nsukka Nsukka.

In her address titled, “Championing innovation: Digital transformation and economic diversification in Nigeria,” Egerton-Idehen said over-reliance on the oil sector had created a vulnerable economy in Nigeria.

She stressed the need for Nigerians to embrace digital transformation which provides a lot of opportunities for growth.

“We see how much digital transformations have further enhanced sectors like Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions); Trade; Agriculture (Crop production); Manufacturing (Food, Beverage & Tobacco); Construction; and Real Estate, among others,” she said.

She noted that it was in line with the vision to diversify the economy through digital transformation that the Nigerian government decided to establish centres for Artificial Intelligence.