{"id":68808,"date":"2023-02-01T10:15:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T09:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/?p=68808"},"modified":"2023-02-01T10:15:15","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T09:15:15","slug":"nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nigeria has recorded another landmark achievement by hosting the maiden edition of the digital economic regional conference (DERC). a convergence of all the ministers of digital economy in the sub-region.<\/p>\n

\"\"The conference is aimed at providing an opportunity for countries in the West Africa sub-region to discuss the growth and development of their various digital economic sectors including the gains, challenges, and opportunities, and also allow for peer review to identify key performance metrics that can form the foundation for the region\u2019s equivalent of the Digital Economy and Society Index utilised by countries in the European region.<\/p>\n

While welcoming his colleagues from other West African sub-region, the Nigerian Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami disclosed that the conference has become imperative because digital inclusion cannot be achieved without collaboration.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The Honorable Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami engaged in a fireside chat by World Bank Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri during the Digital Economy Regional Conference held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He maintained that \u201cno country can do it alone; our strength is in our collaboration and the unity we forged among ourselves,\u201d adding that digital technologies are no respecter of borders, an axiom the sub-region can leverage for brainstorming and idea sharing.<\/p>\n

While describing the African economic situation as worrisome, Prof. Pantami disclosed that the conference will beam a searchlight on the sub-region\u2019s strengths and weaknesses and identify areas that needed development.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Minister, who described the theme of the conference, \u201cPositioning West Africa Digital Economy for the Future\u201d as very apt, averred that the sub-region in particular and the continent, in general, lost out in the first to third industrial revolutions which accounted for the continent’s developing and under-developed status.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world economy is growing. Countries that prioritise the fourth industrial revolution are the leading economies. And if you look at all these countries that are doing well economically, you will discover they prioritised the Fourth Industrial Revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"While challenging the continent to be proactive because \u201cthat is the only key to achieving a very successful digital economy\u2019\u2019, the Minister noted that it is only in the Fourth Industrial Revolution that some African countries are actively involved.<\/p>

\r\n
Advertisement<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n \r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

The Minister decried that the entire African Economy, with a population of almost 1.5 billion people, is less than the economy of Japan. \u201cIf you look at our economic growth, it is lower than our population growth, and by implication, if care is not taken, poverty will continue to increase in the African continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cOur population is very important, particularly if we leverage on the potentials we have, definitely, we will be able to achieve a lot, particularly by being very proactive in our approach to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.\u201d While quoting the African Development Bank ADB, the Minister described as alarming, the over 420 million unemployed or unemployable youth in the continent, saying it is a time bomb waiting to explode if care is not taken. He added that by developing the digital economy sector, there are abundant opportunities for the West African youth to leverage on.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd this is why we are here to discuss our strength. In the South of West Africa, we have a country that has the largest economy in Africa. Within the West African sub-region, we have the most populous country among us. Within the sub-region, we have the country with the youngest population. These are the things that are driving the economy, and most importantly the digital economy that we are here to discuss. So, failure is not an option, he averred.<\/p>\n

While thanking the delegates from different West African countries for honouring the invitation, Prof. Pantami advised that building on the pedestal the conference has afforded is necessary in order to promote the digital economy of the sub-region in specific, and the region in general.<\/p>\n

He said, \u201cI do hope that we will continue to expand this conference to cover the entire African continent in the subsequent events to be organized, but starting with this, I think it is indeed a very good idea. Day one of the two days conference which is supported by the World Bank has in attendance, the Nigerian World Bank Country Director, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri; Cape Verde\u2019s Secretary of State for Digital Economy, His Excellence, Pedro Lopes; Gambian Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Ousman Bah; Nigerien Minister of Post and Information Technology, Mr. Moussa Hassan Basara; Liberian Minister of Post and Telecommunication, Mr. Cooper Kruah; the Senegalese Minister of Digital Economy and Telecommunication, Mr. Ndeye Diop Other dignitaries at the event were Chief Executive Officers of the Nigerian Digital Economy sector, and their counterparts across the West Africa sub region.<\/p>\n

Photo Caption:<\/p>\n

A group of photographs of participants at the Digital Economy Regional Conference in Abuja, Nigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nigeria has recorded another landmark achievement by hosting the maiden edition of the digital economic regional conference (DERC). a convergence of all the ministers of digital economy in the sub-region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":68809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,624],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2391],"class_list":["post-68808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nNigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nigeria has recorded another landmark achievement by hosting the maiden edition of the digital economic regional conference (DERC). a convergence of all the ministers of digital economy in the sub-region.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"National Wire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-01T09:15:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-01T09:15:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"718\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Friday Ekeoba\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/\",\"name\":\"National Wire\",\"description\":\"About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":718},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/\",\"name\":\"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-01T09:15:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-01T09:15:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927\",\"name\":\"Friday Ekeoba\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/author\/friday\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire","og_description":"Nigeria has recorded another landmark achievement by hosting the maiden edition of the digital economic regional conference (DERC). a convergence of all the ministers of digital economy in the sub-region.","og_url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/","og_site_name":"National Wire","article_published_time":"2023-02-01T09:15:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-01T09:15:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":718,"url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Friday Ekeoba","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/","name":"National Wire","description":"About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/IMG-20230201-WA0034.jpg","width":1080,"height":718},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/","name":"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference - National Wire","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2023-02-01T09:15:09+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-01T09:15:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/nigeria-hosts-maiden-edition-of-digital-economy-regional-conference\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nigeria Hosts Maiden Edition Of Digital Economy Regional Conference"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/#\/schema\/person\/e2ab303e561d755b325fc9cea3854927","name":"Friday Ekeoba","url":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/author\/friday\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68808"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68817,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68808\/revisions\/68817"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68808"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalwire.com.ng\/sub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=68808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}