Cisco and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Nigeria have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda and contribute to digital skills training and development.
“Cisco has a responsibility to both its customers and the greater global community to help solve challenges that impact our daily lives,” said Reem Asaad, Vice President for Middle East & Africa at Cisco.
“We accomplish this by providing intelligent and innovative solutions, offering training and education opportunities, empowering communities through digital transformation, and enabling them to participate in the global digital economy. We are looking forward to working with NITDA to help accelerate digitisation in Nigeria,” Asaad said.
Under the MoU, Cisco’s Incubation and Innovation Centre in Lagos, called Cisco EDGE, will be utilised to stimulate innovation and support digitisation initiatives.
Also, Cisco EDGE will serve as a platform for local partners to showcase technologies and host client events. However, the collaboration will focus on two key pillars: Innovate and Educate.
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The Innovate pillar aims to provide resources and tools to local innovators and entrepreneurs, enabling them to develop secure, intelligent, and connected solutions, while the Educate pillar aims to transform the lives of learners, educators, and communities through technology by offering education and career opportunities.
The partnership between Cisco and NITDA is part of the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) program, which aims to promote and expand the Cisco Networking Academy in Nigeria.
Established in 1997, Cisco Networking Academy offers high-quality IT training and hands-on learning opportunities in 190 countries. In Nigeria, over 411,000 students have been enrolled in Cisco Networking Academy courses, with 44 percent of them being women.
The MoU was acknowledged by Reem Asaad, Vice President for Middle East & Africa at Cisco, Kashifu Inuwa, Director-General of NITDA, and Amina Sambo, Acting Director of NITDA’s Digital Literacy and Capacity Development Department.
The signing took place during the Cisco Networking Academy EMEA Partner Conference in Paris, in the presence of industry stakeholders and senior officials from Cisco and NITDA.
This collaboration between Cisco and NITDA signifies their commitment to supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation efforts. By providing training, education, and innovative solutions, they aim to equip Nigerians with the knowledge and resources needed to participate in the digital economy.
In addition, the partnership also highlights the importance of empowering communities and fostering local innovation to drive sustainable development and economic growth, Asaad said.
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