BY LINDA JACOBS, Lagos, Nigeria
In the past few weeks, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has gone a notch higher with its commitment to ensure that the Nigeria telecommunications industry is innovation driven.
The regulator of Nigeria’s telecommunication industry has called on the provide sector software developers, startup entrepreneurs’ and digital hubs as well as researchers in the tertiary institutions across the country, to come up with digital solutions that addresses the industry’s inherent challenges.
The Commission first invited entries from Tech Hubs, Startups and Innovation Digital SMEs with promising and adaptable digital solutions that will aid in containing the impacts of pandemic and epidemic-prone diseases in Nigeria to a virtual Hackathon.
Digital Solutions for Covid-19
The NCC is funding the best three technology startups that can create life transforming digital solutions for coronavirus (Covid-19) and other epidemic-prone diseases in Nigeria with N9 million.
The top three Startups with the most promising digital solutions will receive a grant of N3 million each from the NCC to aid the development and deployment of these solutions in Nigeria. NCC is looking out for healthcare solution that can empower healthcare workers on the front lines of Covid-19 and bring support to individuals isolated at home.
It is also looking out for digital communications that will aid the sustenance of economic activities and while encouraging social distancing as well as enhance productivity of people working from home during this Lockdown and beyond.
On the educational and transportation side, NCC will fund easy to deploy, accessible and cost effective eLearning Solutions for Public Schools; and Improve safety in public transportation facilities in Nigeria.
Saving Scarce Foreign Exchange
Similarly, NCC s forging ahead with ‘Request for Proposal (RFP) Telecommunications- Based Research Innovation from Academics in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions – 2020’ requesting proposals from academics in tertiary institutions that have feasible research ideas, capable of replacing or enhancing foreign technologies in the telecommunications in Nigeria.
This is expected to save the country billions of dollars spent on foreign technologies. The proposal to tertiary institutions is aimed at developing indigenous technologies that would end capital flight.
The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta envisages that the initiative will help build capacity in the tertiary institutions and promote Nigeria’s contribution to the pool of technologies in use in the communications industry.
According to the Commission, areas of research include: Innovative clean energy Technology; 5G deployment in Nigeria; IoT Low Power Wide Area Network (WAN) Technology; Advanced method of Quality of Service (QoS)/Quality of Experience Management and test mechanism; and Monitoring and localisation of drones.
In line with its commitment to promote innovation to drive digital transformation, the Danbatta-led created a Research and Development (R&D) Department for the Commission in 2016, with the purpose of synchronizing the various ongoing research activities and other development projects being carried out by the Commission.
This decision, which was in line with the provisions of the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 and the Nigerian National ICT Policy 2012, is helping the Commission to stimulate and sustain innovations in the ICT industry.
From 2013 to date, the Commission has disbursed millions of Naira, in grants, to sponsor innovation-oriented research projects in tertiary institutions and other research institutes.
Supporting Higher Institutions
In keeping with its ongoing tradition of driving technology innovations through funding relevant researches in tertiary institutions, therefore, the Commission, in May 2019, announced N40 million endowment funds for Bayero University, Kano (BUK) and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The fund will be utilized by the institutions to drive for innovation, research and development in the digital space with an ongoing commitment to expand the list of benefiting institutions.
A month after, precisely in June, the Commission, again, demonstrated its determination to facilitating research and innovation in the telecom industry in Nigeria by presenting the sum of N65 million to eleven universities in Nigeria for driving innovation, research and development.
Through the funding, the benefitting tertiary institutions are expected to deliver research results and prototypes that are implementable, commercially-viable and capable of engendering innovation in different sectors of the economy.
Support for Young Tech Innovators
The NCC continues to support young innovators by showcasing their innovations at global telecoms fora such as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecoms World. Organising local competition for innovators to competitively encourage them to develop locally-relevant tech innovations that can help grow the economy was part of the NCC’s efforts at promoting ICT innovations.
Between December 17 -19, 2019, the Commission hosted a three-day Maiden Edition of the Innovation Competition/Exhibition Event themed “Promoting Innovation and Creativity in the Telecoms Sector” at the Digital bridge Institute (DBI) Campus, Lagos, where 25 shortlisted technological Innovators were gathered to pitch their innovations.
After series and rounds of presentations, discussions as well as questions and answers sessions by the panel of judges and focusing on local content component of the innovators’ business plans, 10 best-in-class innovative ideas, were shortlisted out of the 25 tech innovators from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
From the 10 shortlisted innovators, QMartins Fidelis, founder of Qatalog Automates emerged the best and won the first prize, WICRYPT came second and Phaheem Pharmaceuticals Limited came third. The three leading innovators won N3 million, N2 million and N1 million respectively.
Danbatta, while addressing the audience at the even said the commitment to such an innovation building-oriented programme was “line with item 4 of the Commission’s 8-Point Agenda which speaks to promoting ICT innovation and investment opportunities in the telecoms industry through promotion of digital knowledge and skills that can positively impact various sectors of the economy.”