Key players in the tech industry have shared ways to navigate the digital landscape without breaching data privacy essential for businesses in Nigeria.
This was made known by various technological experts at the BusinessDay CEO forum, held on Thursday 13, 2023 at Eko Hotel, Lagos during the panel session.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director-General/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, said there is a need for the government to come up with policies. Also the government requires you to understand these policies.
According to him, in the same way, tech is disrupting industries, our regulatory body is also disrupting the regulations.
“Regulating tech is the most difficult thing to do. Older generations before us did not have to deal with this disruption and it’s not what we can do alone, we have to co-create together,” he said.
In response to what digital disruption means for a country already dominating the telecom industry and digital infrastructure, Karl Toriola Chief Executive Officer-MTN Nigeria said “Digital disruption is the use of digital infrastructure tools and data to change data models, from a telco perspective we can be digitally disrupted by Over-the-top media service (OTTs),
“Other types of disruption can be seen in multiple industries like the banking industry, which have seen some level of disruption with its digital banks.”
“Education is also going to be disrupted really quickly, as Nigerians are not fast enough to realise it,” he said.
Ayotunde Coker, CEO, Open Access Data Center, said CEOs don’t have to be techy, but it is important for them to understand technological trends, what is likely to happen to their businesses, where likely disruptions are likely to occur, and more.
“Africa is 17 percent of the global population but there is a gap between our population, prosperity, and digital gap. To close the propriety gap, close the digital gap. Businesses must pivot into digital technologies to close the digital gap and CEOs must make digital tech the DNA of their organisation,” he said.
Hanu Fejiro Agbodje, CEO of Patricia, a crypto platform said It is my believe that we will see a wide adoption and shift from a traditional system to a system where blockchain is at the forefront
“We have a huge opportunity to be at the forefront of Artificial intelligence and Blockchain in the next few years meaning they are new markets with room for exploration,” he said.
In addition, Bode Abifarin, Chief Operating Officer at Flutterwave, said “Understanding the business you are in and anticipating the future is essential. However, as a business, you must consider your short-term, medium, and long-term goals, and how each will affect your business.
“Having a team dedicated to thinking of the future in line with your goals goes a long way, she said.
