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How smart cities can lift Nigeria’s GDP

By Adeyemi Adepetun, Shanghai, China
04 September 2016   |   5:01 am
Smart Cities drive has been identified with the potential to lift Nigeria’s economy from the woods in the current global economic recession.
Source: Google

Source: Google

Forum Urges Investments In New Technologies

Smart Cities drive has been identified with the potential to lift Nigeria’s economy from the woods in the current global economic recession.

The efficacy of the recommendation is however dependent on a proper admixture of right policy directions, political will and infrastructure development.

With the possibility that Smart City initiative can lift the economy and contribute over 70 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), emerging economies, countries including Nigeria, have been charged to key into it as an opportunity to reposition their economies and compete favourably

This was part of statistics revealed at the 2016 Huawei Connect Conference in Shanghai, China, yesterday, which stipulated that the world is currently home to seven billion people, with possibility of rising to nine billion by 2050.

Huawei’s Chief Technical Officer, industry Solutions, Enterprise Business Group, Joe So, said there was need to accelerate urbanization, because half of global population now live in cities compared to 30 per cent 50 years ago.

Making reference to Frost and Sullivan and Mckinsey reports, So said urbanisation will rise to 57 per cent of total world population.

“Cities can create 70 per cent of global GDP. By 2025, 30 per cent global GDP comes from 75 most dynamic cities,” he stated.

So, a 1985 mathematics graduate from University of Waterloo, said between 2007 to 2025, developed economies would contribute 26 per cent to world’s GDP; emerging mega cities eight per cent; emerging market large 10 per cent; emerging market medium 13 per cent; emerging market rural 14 per cent; while rural areas should bring in 28 per cent.

While calling on nations, especially emerging economies like Nigeria to get smart and invest in new technologies including IoT, 5G, among others, So said Smart City promotes sustainable growth by creating more services; lower cost; promotes more inclusive public service; more efficient governance and ensure more convenient living.

He stressed that with ICT at the core, Smart Governance facilitates Smart Cities transformation.

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