BOI, AFDB, others partner to deepen digital literacy

BANK of Industry ( BOI), the African Development Bank ( AFDB) and the National Information Technolog y Development Agency ( NITDA) ha ve entered into a partnership to drive digital literacy in Nigeria.

The Managing Director , BOI, Olasupo Olusi, at the bank’s Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises ( IDICE) stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said that with a youthful growing population and increasing urbanisation, activities in the digital and creative sector had continued to increase, maintaining that it was imperative to further drive productivity in the Nigerian economy.

According to him, the creative and digital economy is central to the economic strategy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s transformation plan, as the digital and creative sector plays a key role in driving employment creation, and reducing poverty and inequality in the polity.

He said: "With such recognition, there is a need for us to reposition our focus on ways to improve the activities and output from the digital and creative economic space.

Such repositioning involves the introduction of a transformative initiative as the i DICE programme." "In recognition of the critical role of the creative sector in economic development, the Bank of Industry in 2011 created a Creative and Digital Group to provide tailor- made financing for projects and the success story has been enormous," he said. He pointed out that opportunities, like the IDICE programme, would continue to exist for young and vibrant entrepreneurs to start and expand their business activities, through the necessary funding, catalytic infrastructure and push for enactment of policies that would take startup businesses to the next level.