ISPON Shops for N500 Million

In furtherance of its national advocacy to foster and promote the Software profession and industry, the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) is set to raise N500million for sustainable national development and global competitiveness.
In a statement made available to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek ISPON believes that the Software Industry can become an alternative to oil with respect to revenue generation and wealth creation. To achieve this feat, ISPON has solicited and won the support of core IT champions and stakeholder team comprising Engr. E. Ndukwe, EVC NCC, Sam Amuka, publisher Vanguard, Jim Ovia a passionate IT promoted and Founder of Visafone Networks, Sen. Sylvester Anyanwun, Prof. C. Angaye, DG NITDA, Prof. Charles Uwadia, president, Nigeria Computer Society, President of CPN, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, president ATCON, the Diaspora and a host of others.
Today, the development, application and use of Software has boosted productivity, created new jobs, enabled more efficient businesses, produced higher quality of goods and services, and led to greater global innovation, standards and best practices. The emergence of the Software revolution has enhanced the quality of life from improving health care, agriculture, communication, education, Art and Culture, to promoting greater transparency, to making it easier for government, business and humanity to interact with one another and above all, to promoting world peace.
“The key benefit of a vibrant Software Industry is in producing more knowledgeable and better-skilled human capital for nation building.
Software has therefore become and will remain for a long time one of the fastest growing industries with the power to enrich and sustain national economies.  Global projection and current assessment reveals that IT spending will exceed four trillion US dollars in 2009.
ISPON has therefore originated plans to enthrone the establishment of a National Policy and strategies for software development. Setting a national software development policy and awareness agenda therefore, is against the backdrop that building software capacities presents immense economic opportunities for nation building. Suffice to state that Nigeria can earn more than $10billion in foreign exchange annually from the software industry,” the statement said.
ISPON commended the federal government for the enviable role it has played in the developmental process of Information Technology, especially its adoption of the National Policy on Information Technology (IT) and beliefs that the Nigerian Software market potential is currently worth about $5.2billion US Dollars and can grow to more than $15 billion annually, provided that an exclusive, independent and professionally constituted framework is established to harness its immense potential.