Nigeria included in United Kingdom’s seven- year digital strategy
THE United Kingdom government has revealed plans to work with Nigeria and some other selected countries through its new Digital Development Strategy ( DDS) 2024- 2030, launched on March 18, 2024.
The DDS, which is an inclusive, responsible, and sustainable digital future, aims to support digital transformation that accelerates development and manages emerging risks for the next seven years.
This was revealed in Lagos yesterday at a workshop organised by the British High Commission, Lagos. Speaking, the Digital Access Programme Adviser and Country Lead, Idongesit Udoh, said through the DDS 2024 to 2030, the target has been to achieve four interconnected objectives in Nigeria, including digital transformation by catalysing the economy, government, and society through digital technologies; digital inclusion by Udoh said by 2030, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO) would have supported at least 20 partner countries including Nigeria to reduce their digital divides by an average of 50 per cent ( helping to halve their connectivity gap). ensuring that no- one is left behind in a digital world; digital responsibility by enabling a safe, secure, and resilient digital environment and digital sustainability, targeted at harnessing digital technologies in support of climate change and environmental aims.
Udoh said the DDS would deliver on four top priorities in Nigeria, through a combination of policy and programming work.
According to him, this will include last- mile connectivity, digital public infrastructure ( DPI); Artificial Intelligence ( AI) and women and girls.
He explained that the last mile connectivity would ensure basic connectivity in remote, low- income areas are fundamental to ensuring that the most marginalised can benefit from digital technologies.
On the DPI, he said this is the technical term for societywide digital services, such as egovernment and national payment systems, and is a key enabler for the digital transformation of both government and the private sector. Udoh expected that by 2030, the FCDO would have supported at least 20 partner countries including Nigeria to transform the delivery of digital services at a national level through improved. Speaking on AI, the country lead said the rapid evolution of AI presents both opportunities and risks, some countries more so than others that risk being left behind due to their weaker digital foundations.