By Prince Osuagwu
Managing Director and CEO of Data and Marketing Technology company, Terragon, Elo Umeh, has made case for proper exposure of indigenous technology solutions to attract global attention as a way of sustaining economic growth.
With this call, Umeh has joined major stakeholders in Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology, ICT sector, including the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, among others who have consistently advocated for promotion of indigenous technology solutions and telecom contents.
At one of the panel sessions in the just concluded Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE), 2022 in Lagos, Umeh advised Nigerian government to take private-public partnership initiatives seriously as it has always seen to be the driving force behind promotion of indigenous content and solutions.
He said: “Building an ecosystem consisting of mega corporations is super critical for our indigenous digital economy to thrive. The government must be deliberate about working with the private sector to promote innovation and indigenous content, through policies and initiatives such as the establishment of Nigeria Office for Developing the Indigenous Telecom Sector, NODITS to foster indigenisation of software.”
Umeh noted that Terragon has always been focused on developing technology solutions to solve business challenges within the African context, in order to contribute toward building the indigenous digital economy and its unique ecosystem.
He said that through its unique platforms such as Enterprise Customer Data Platform and TerragonPrime, the company is helping enterprises and Small and Medium Businesses, SMBs drive intelligent customer engagement leveraging local data and technology.
While presenting the keynote address, Minister Digital Economy Minister, Prof. Pantami corroborated Umeh’s position and charged stakeholders to intensify efforts in the promotion of Nigeria’s indigenous telecommunications sector. He decried the influx of foreign software in Nigeria, lamenting that 77 per cent of software in use in the country is foreign, while only 23 per cent derive locally.
He assured that the Federal Government was determined to reverse the ugly trend by stopping the importation of communications products, especially where such products could be accessed in Nigeria.
After the presentations, the Terragon exhibition stand attracted a beehive activity as several dignitaries, including Pantami, Danbatta, Chairman House of Reps Committee on Communications, Akeem Adeyemi, Special Adviser to Lagos State Government on Innovation and Technology, Mr Olatunbosun Alake, all thronged the booth.
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