Technology giants, Microsoft announced today that they are collaborating with the Nigerian government to accelerate the digital transformation of Nigeria.
Announcing the development in a joint statement with the Nigerian government, Microsoft detailed that it will launch several projects aimed at intensifying the nation’s move to become a more digital economy.
“We believe in the future of Nigeria, and we are excited as a company to add to our investments,” says Brad Smith, Microsoft President. “Together, we have an enormous opportunity to put technology to work, create jobs, to foster the technology ecosystem across Nigeria, and to use technology to preserve the best of the past and take us into the future.”
According to the statement, the collaboration which was birthed by conversations between Microsoft, the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy as well as other local partners seeks to generate the development of a high-speed internet infrastructure across the six regions of the West African country.
“Microsoft’s Airband team will work closely with local partners to improve broadband connectivity in these communities while also assisting with the design and implementation of hyper-scale cloud services,” the statement further said.
Tolu Ogunlesi, a spokesperson to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari also announced the collaboration. “Joint announcement by @MicrosoftNG and @NigeriaGov: “Following discussions with @FMoCDENigeria and local partners, six regions in [Nigeria] have been earmarked for the development of high-speed internet infrastructure” he disclosed in a tweet.
This partnership between Microsoft and Nigeria has created a buzz on Nigeria’s social media. Apart from its potential to improve the internet penetration of Nigeria which stands around 50 percent or create over 27,000 jobs, the development has validated Nigeria’s space in the Africa technology discussion – an area citizens fear the government has not explored enough.
About a month ago, Twitter announced it has taken a substantial step towards establishing a presence in the region by making Ghana its Africa headquarters.
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