Ministry to establish ICT Development Bank

From Walter Ukaegbu, Abuja

Ministry of Communications has set up a committee on the establishment of specialized programmes on ICT in the six geo-political zones in the country.
The minister, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, who disclosed this yesterday during the smart cities summit in Abuja, said the ministry would be promoting the establishment of an ICT Development Bank like the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry to assist in providing the needed funding for the ICT Industry instead of depending on commercial banks.
“In consultation with stakeholders in the sector we have developed two key documents, the Nigeria ICT Roadmap 2016 – 2020 and Nigeria ICT Strategic plan in order to provide an enabling environment for effective development of the ICT sector.
“The ICT roadmap is a fundamental component of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the government,” he stated.
He said some of the components of the ICT Roadmap that would be delivered this year were, hosting of the smart cities, ICT University, ICT Development Bank and the ICT Park and Exhibition centre.
The minister explained that with the development of new technological innovations mainly ICTs – the concept of the smart city emerged as a means to achieve more efficient and sustainable cities.
He said since its conception the smart city notion evolved from the execution of specific projects to the implementation of global strategies to tackle wider city challenges.

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