With a view to boost economic development and sustain growth through digitalisation, the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Club Africa will be holding a summit to advance the cause of digital transformation through strategic alliances with international bodies.
The move, the organisers said was to speedily transform Africa and most especially, Nigeria, for efficient and effective governance, quality leadership and management of resources for economic growth, development and sustenance.
Convener of CIO Club Africa, Abiola Laseinde, at a press briefing, said there was the need for Nigeria to be at par with other developed countries on digital transformation.
She said it was an avenue for critical stakeholders in the digital space to brainstorm, support opportunities and help the government close gaps.
The summit, which is scheduled to hold today (Friday) in Lagos, has the theme ‘The Role of Digitalisation in Transforming the Economy.’
Chairman of Edniesal Consulting Limited, Oluwakayode Adigun, said transformation is pertinent at this time for Nigeria and Africa as a continent.
“For us to make a mark on the world economic map, the only thing we can do is to transform speedily and rapidly for efficiency and the only way to achieve that is through digitalisation. We cannot continue to do things with analogue and expect to catch up with the rest of the world.”
According to him, it is based on the need to speedily transform Nigeria and Africa’s economy through digitalisation as it is being done in other climes. That informed the summit where digital players, including manufacturers of systems, providers of services, end-users and government officials will attempt to look for a solution on how to move the economy forward through digitalisation.
“Today, policies pursue digitalisation and technology. What we want to do is for government to understand how to pursue it properly so that the formulators, regulators and implementers are on the same page on how to do a better job,” he said.
Speaking on the key roles CIO Club Africa intends to play in the technology ecosystem, Member Board of Trustees and Vice Chairman, CIO Club Africa, Fatumata Coker, said the Club would be entirely secured and exclusively reserved for members, including COOs, and CEOs, who oversee all IT activities in their company.
“We intend to establish strategic alliances with international bodies and exchange information on technology, security and problem solving and evaluate new technologies to help the IT community via virtual workshops and brainstorming sessions, among others,” she said.
Deputy Governor, Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Adebisi Shonubi and the Managing Director of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System plc (NIBSS), Premier Oiwoh will lead discussions.
