Govt Plans Digital Service Centres in Rural Areas

• Govt Plans Digital Service Centres in Rural Areas

The Federal Government is planning to establish digital services centres in rural communities across the country.

These centres, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, will operate using accurate identity data of every Nigerian provided through the National Identity Number.

Osinbajo, who was represented by the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dr Adeyemi Dipeolu, while speaking at the TechMoney and Innovation Summit Africa in Lagos, noted that the initiative would be similar to the Aadhaar programme in India.

While emphasising that technology developments in Africa should be inclusive, he said the growing use of mobile phones for payments to beneficiaries of social programmes would boost financial inclusion in the country.

“The enabling ecosystem for technological development in Africa must also be inclusive. Certainly, the increasing use of mobile payments for social programmes in Nigeria will contribute to improving financial inclusion in Nigeria especially when the payment service banks are registered by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he added.

“The Nigerian Government is contemplating the introduction of digital service centres in rural communities which will serve as the modern-day equivalent of the village letter writer. A lot of this would depend on accurate data the starting point of which is to give every Nigerian a digital ID in the form of the National Identity Number somewhat similar to the Aadhaar programme in India.”

Unicorn Group, the organiser of the summit, expressed its commitment to holding TechMoney Africa Summit annually in order to inspire, educate and connect leaders from government, private sector, academia, and entrepreneurs on the latest innovative and disruptive technologies.

The Chairman, Unicorn Group, Kola Abiola, said the company was ready to invest $3m across Africa in the next 10 years to develop talents as well as support African tech start-ups with mentorship and investment opportunities.