Nigeria’s Minister of Industry and Commerce connects blockchain with national digital innovation efforts

According to a report by Voice of Nigeria, Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, identified blockchain as part of the government’s focus on emerging technologies during Wednesday’s annual conference on Digital Africa.

Highlighting the conference theme – “Building a New Africa with AI and Blockchain” – Pantami stated that the government was working on setting up innovation centers.

According to Pantami, these innovation centers will explore capacity-enhancing protocols for artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, robotics, cloud computing and blockchain technology, among others.

In his speech, the communications minister said the move was part of an effort to foster a culture of innovation in Nigeria, adding:

“We are also actively preparing to use blockchain technologies for our digital economy and recently developed a national blockchain adoption strategy.”

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Authority (NITDA) published a draft of a strategic framework for blockchain back in October 2020. The document sets out a six-point agenda for the use of new technologies, including national digital identity and regulatory sandboxes for pilot implementation.

At the conference, NITDA Director General Kashifu Inuwa stated that Nigeria could be a growth engine for AI and blockchain in Africa. In November 2020, Inuwa commented that the country could generate up to $ 10 billion in blockchain revenue by 2030.

Pantami’s department has led a mandatory national identification program in the country, a move that has created significant controversy over the mandatory association of phone numbers with national ID data.

Connected: Nigeria expects blockchain to generate $ 10 billion in revenue by 2030

The minister’s speech addressed data protection and data security issues, but did not mention any possible use of blockchain in the area of ​​secure storage of national ID data sets.

Back in February, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo said that cryptocurrency and blockchain would improve Nigeria’s financial landscape. The vice president’s comments follow a ban imposed by the central bank prohibiting financial institutions from providing cryptocurrency exchange services.