ACCI partners CPAA on digital economy policy

says Nigeria to benefit from private participation in policy

The Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has signed MoU with Continental Project Affairs Associates Ltd. (CPAA) on digital economy policy in Abuja. The deal, according to both parties, will deepen private sector participation in the making of digital economy policies and programmes to benefit maximally from the booming sector.

Noting that governmental drive within the ICT sector is recognition of digital shift, Dr Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, President, Abuja Chambers of Commerce and Industry said the ICT contribution to GDP is growing every quarter and the potential of the sector as a job creator is well documented. He, however, added that government effort cannot fully yield desired results without the private sector effectively integrated into the making as implementation of the digital economy policy of the private sector is generally dependent on to fuel innovation and cost efficient operation of the sector. “Designing a digital economy without the strong input of the private sector is a serious error,” He said.

“To develop the sector effectively, engagement with the private sector is key. Policies emerging from such consultation will integrate the aspiration of the operators and assist the regulators to emerge as facilitators. That is why the ACCI as a leading chamber in Nigeria decided to institute a digital economy policy series. The series will regularly dwell on ICT policy issue and produce policy contributions,” he added

Olusegun Olugbile, the executive Chairman, ACCI while speaking on the deal said the group want a viable relationship in which the business sector will be able to coordinate itself and engage government appropriately in the on-going task of designing and implementing a robust national digital economy policy whilst also noting that the strategic plan is designed to harness and articulate private sector perspectives for digital policy dialogue.

“The idea is to first enable policy dialogue between the business community and later within a public private dialogue framework. This will assist the government in the formulation of regulations and overall national policy. We see ACCI as a strong platform to drive this initiative,” he said.

In his view on the digital economy policy plan, Olawale Rasheed, Executive Director, ACCI policy Centre, said the MoU marks the beginning of several partnerships that would see the institutionalization of the policy advocacy process within the chamber and deepen the business side of the policy work.

He said, “Through the instrumentality of unpaid fellows, we have developed a huge pool of policy volunteers. This has put the PAC in strong stead to discharge its mandate in policy work. It also places us on a strong pedestal for our new role as a national policy centre for the national chambers movement in Nigeria, NACCIMA”.