Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the minister of Communication and Digital Economy has said that he will present the Startup Bill to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) by next week.
The minister made this statement while addressing attendants at the Art of Technology (AoT3.0) conference, themed ‘Funding and a connected Lagos’ hosted in Lagos Nigeria.
The AoT is a technology conference in Africa every year, hosted in Lagos state, which gathers all the top government executives, policy makers, investors, founders, business executives and enthusiasts together as an industry to participate in conversations and make collective decisions that will foster economic growth through technology and make the dominance of the fourth industrial revolution a reality.
Pantami explained that the start-up bill which was developed in collaboration with the Chief of Staff to the president is ready for the Federal Executive Council deliberation and consideration for approval.
“I hope by next week or upper week, the start-up bill will be presented to the federal executive council by my humble self on behalf of the ICT stakeholders and after that when it is approved, it will be transmitted to the national assembly for their legislative process and after then it will go to Mr. president for his own approval as the case maybe,” Pantami Said.
However, he stated that there are so many provisions in the start-up bill that will support and make start-ups very successful in Nigeria and contribute largely to the national economy while he also recognized startups in all sectors and all that participated in conceptualizing the idea and coming up with the start-up bill.
According to Pantami, the digital sector played a massive role in pulling the country out of recession, much more easily than predicted by the global power.
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“The Federal Government has approved the National information communication technology infrastructure loan which will provide broadband to Lagos state. I believe that Lagos state Government will deliberate on the initiative so that our broadband penetration could reach each and every part of the state,” he added.
Furthermore he pledged to continue supporting the state to maintain their position in broad infrastructure as he awaits the approval of the start-up bill which he said will be good news for young innovators and startups to continue to make the country relevant in the digital sector and economy at large.
Meanwhile, Babajide Sanwolu, the Executive Governor of Lagos State who was present in the conference revealed the ongoing digital projects to foster development in Lagos and put technology ahead.
According to the Governor, the Metro Fibre project, a 6000km fibre metro network, which 2000 has already been deployed will enable ministries, agencies, public schools and hospitals to have robust fibre optics connectivity.
He noted that upon completion, the project will optimize digitalization of civic activities and further bigger data communication thereby improving the productive output of the connected stakeholders.
Speaking on Smart City projects, Sanwolu explained that they are committed to deployed over 2000 smart cameras to provide 24 hours driven economy, increase emergency responses and security within the state.
He noted that the Smart City project will also include Smart transport and the intelligent transport system.
“We are also putting cameras in some of our BRT buses so that safety will be ensured in our public buses,” Sanwolu said.
Speaking on Data access, the Governor stated that the Data Cabinet initiative will provide citizens with key Data insight into lagos to rate the level of civic engagement and innovations of the state.
He also talked about the EGIS initiative, where individuals can now submit their land and building plans at the comfort of their homes or offices and get approval.
” And for land administration issues, you can apply for ℅, search for the property and get informations on the property with the EGIS. These are some of the deliverables that will happen and we are working tirelessly to ensure that once it goes live, you can in the comfort of your homes, offices, have all these being handed over to you,” He added.
The governor noted that they are doing digital mapping to also monitor defaulters of the planning approval remotely.
Other speakers at the conference also highlight the impact of technology in the development of the economy and the start-up ecosystem.
