Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase, President, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) on Wednesday said that information and communications sector has become a catalyst for boosting business operations in Nigeria and across border trade.

He made this assertions at the 2018 Seminar on ‘Data Management: Tool for Economic and Security Change’ organised by ICT Group of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Lagos.

Ruwase stated that electronic transactions have made it possible to achieve high quality and speed in service delivery in the areas such as travels, e-commerce and e-government.

He reiterated the need for policies that will encourage and support innovation, software development and protection of intellectual property, adding that it is necessary for achieving useful collaborations with other technologically-advanced countries as well as attracting investments into the ICT sector.

He revealed that National Bureau of Statistics 2018 GDP second quarter report shows that ICT sector contributes 13.63% to GDP in a year on year growth of 11.81%  from 1.58% in the first quarter of 2018.

“The statistics are a clear call for the need to identify opportunities for collaboration, sharing best practices and exploring inclusive technologies to drive Nigeria into a truly connected global community, he added.

He commended the national assembly for passing the electronic transaction bill after careful considerations of the potentials of the ICT sector.

According to him, “we acknowledge the efforts of the National Assembly in passing the electronic transaction bill after careful considerations of the potentials of the ICT sector and what an enabling and protective act can help the sector to achieve for the country.

Attendees at the Workshop

“There is therefore need for such business and investment elements that strengthen the private sector.

“The regulatory environment must also be sensitive to the ideals of a conducive business environment that can attract private sector participation and foreign direct investment.

“Let me therefore use this opportunity to call on the government to be consistent bwithg its policies and initiate platforms and waivers that will attract and support startups by the youths in Nigeria.

 Mr.Zakari Usman, Chairman,ICT Group, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries,(LCCI) in his presentation said that as the world celebrated the end of Millennium Development Goals (MDGSs) and continue to drive the more ambitious Susatainable Development framework, the importance of making timely and reliable data available across the country cannot be over emphasized.

“In this increasingly complex world, the availability of high quality data is vital in facilitating decision-making for both private and pubic sectors.

“The World is also seeing greater demands for higher levels of transparency. This has become pivotal for building trust and confidence regardless of the line and nature of business. The data community has responded to these changes thereby causing a value shift in our economic security”, Mr. Usman said.

He said that one key trend that has elevated data management to a new level is the rapid innovation and advances in information and communication technology.

Engr. Remi Adejumo, Chief Technical Officer, Comercio Ltd delivering his presentation at the event.

“It is staggering that there are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day at our current pace and that pace is only accelerating with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). With the rapid expansion of data storage capacity, growing global connectivity and double-digit growth rates in the middle broadband market, there is no doubt that the swift pace of technological developments has not only facilitated the rapid collection of new data but also led to more effective management of the data”, he said.

The Chairman also added that the improvements in technology have also brought tremendous benefits to the private and public segments of our country today, adding that amid wider availability of data on economic planning products, households now have the potential to make better savings and investment choices.

“For the government, data is a vital is a vital source of evidence, as they provide clear and objective statistics on all aspects of the state of the nation, including the growth and characteristics of our population, economic performance, levels of health and wellbeing and the condition of our surrounding environment.

“Accordingly, the significance of data for making evidence-based decisions that guide the implementation of new policies and monitoring and evacuation of the effectiveness of policy decisions cannot be overemphasized”, he added.

Mr. Usman further admitted that as the business community moves forward, it will be more evident that without data, they cannot make well-informed decisions that will catalyse the social and economic development and transform the future.

“The changing contours of the global landscape will increase the demand for higher quality and more comprehensive data which will also need to be accompanies by sound analysis in order to draw correct inferences. From the compliers of data, to the developers of data applications and the users of data, there will be many challenges, but also immense opportunities ahead”, he intoned.