The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, said it would showcase SMEs at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecom World which holds in Durban, South Africa in September. This is premised on the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and start-ups are critical drivers of economic growth.
Apart from SMEs, innovators are also to feature at this year’s event with their innovations. As part of the plans towards 2018 ITU Telecom World, with theme: “Innovation for Smarter Digital Development,” the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) recently had a publication in the media, inviting Information and Communications Technology (ICT) practitioners and SMEs operating as e-Environment, Technology Hubs, Innovation Incubators, e-Education, e-Health, e-Commerce, e-Finance, Youth Empowerment and Employment to enlist for participation at ITU Telecom World 2018.
The LOC stated that for SMEs/Innovators to be selected, “their tech-enabled solution must be creative, innovative, and globally relevant. Also, such products/services must provide demonstrable impact or radical improvement in service delivery or processes to a specific area such as agriculture, education, health, governance, security among others,”
Nigeria performed well in ITU Telecom World 2017, held in Busan, South Korea, when five of the country’s SMEs/Innovators made the final ITU Global list for SMEs/Innovators awards.
Nigeria’s delegation will be led by Communications Minister, Chief Adebayo Shittu; Chairman, NCC Board, Senator Olabiyi Durojaiye and the EVC of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta