The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, at the weekend expressed optimism that Starlink’s commencement of operations in the country and the implementation of the Nigeria Startup Act (NSA) would bolster the nation’s startup ecosystem.
The Minister made this projection on Friday when he hosted two Nigerian startups, namely RiceAfrika Technologies and Wicrypt, that were among the winners at the LEAP Rocket Fuel pitch competition which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Pantami pointed out that with Starlink’s deployment of its broadband network to all the nooks and crannies of the country, startups will be able to access fast-speed internet from any part of the country.
While assuring that the Federal Government will continue to make efforts to create enabling environment for innovators and startups to continue to amplify the positive image of the country, the minister said that the enactment of the Startup Act remained one of the ways the government showed its commitment to the development of the startup ecosystem.
He said: “Recently, we initiated the Nigeria Startup Act which is among the most important legislations we have in Nigeria particularly when it comes to addressing the challenges confronted by our innovators.
“Also, after my visit to the US SpaceX, a few days later Nigeria happened to be the first country to have Starlink. As of today, Starlink covers the entire landmass of Nigeria approximately 920,000 square kilometers. These are some things that will drive the sector and the ecosystem to succeed”, Pantami added
The minister commended the two startups for emerging winners at the Dubai competition and making Nigeria to be respected on the global startup stage, adding that Nigeria’s participation at the event, which was facilitated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is due to the nation’s membership of the Digital Corporation Organisation (DCO).
He charged the winners: “This is supposed to be the beginning, not the end, we need to have many of you that will emerge because Nigeria is so passionate about innovation. You are job providers, not seekers because the challenge of unemployment and underemployment can only be addressed by promoting our digital innovation and digital entrepreneurship.
“We are more interested in supporting job providers and if there is anything the government can do to support you to be successful, we are always ready. “We hope that in the next few years, you will be in the top class globally, don’t narrow your thinking only to Nigeria, think big where your innovation will be beneficial globally,’’ Pantami added.
