The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and Sweden have agreed to work together to strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy ecosystem.
Both parties reached this agreement when the director-general of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi received the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Carl Grans and his delegation at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja.
Abdullahi reiterated the commitment of the agency in exploring more opportunities in developing the digital literacy and skills of Nigerians to drive the nation’s economy and achieve a digital Nigeria.
He noted that one of the plans of the agency is to strengthen the ecosystem of the Federal Capital Territory and the nation.
The NITDA boss appreciated the existing partnership the agency has had over the years with the Embassy of Sweden, especially with the ‘SchoolTry’ platform, a Sweden-based educational technology company offering innovative solutions towards the digital transformation of the Nigerian education sector.
He expressed the fact that “achieving digital economy is something that no one can succeed in isolation; particularly as the world is increasingly becoming global, which has necessitated the need for more collaborations such that whatever you do, you think global and act locally”.
According to the DG, working towards building the nation’s GDP in a global economy would attract foreign markets and investments into the country. He encouraged the Swedish team to go beyond the ‘SchoolTry’ project and execute more IT-driven initiatives, assuring the team of a mutually beneficial partnership.
In his remarks, Grans underscored the commitment of ‘SchoolTry’ with its HQ in Stockholm, Sweden, to lead the digitalisation of education delivery in Nigeria, expressed appreciation to the NITDA boss for the collaborative efforts enjoyed so far.
The envoy added that he is looking forward to getting more investments from Nigeria to grow and expand the company.
“As Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, we work with a lot of different projects on digitalisation because it’s a huge problem for many countries – including Sweden and Nigeria, especially given Nigeria’s population. When I learnt about this company (‘SchoolTry’) founded by a Nigerian in Sweden and working with education and e-learning I knew that it would be very interesting for Nigeria to engage in because education is a social responsibility for Nigeria and Sweden,” he said.
He appealed that the company is also seeking to leverage some software in some of the schools that have NITDA’s IT infrastructure.
Founded in 2018, the ‘SchoolTry’, which falls under digital literacy and skills – one of NITDA’s seven pillars of Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (SRAP- 2021-2024) which is also in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria – is an integrated mobile and web solution for schools to connect in real-time with teachers, parents and students. The features and functionalities from the ‘SchoolTry’ app are said to reduce cost, improve data management and boost overall efficiency.
