The availability of domestic credit is a key requirement for consistent economic growth in developing countries. The vitality of financial services such as banking, savings, debt and equity financing, investment management, and point-of-sale lending is largely dependent on the maturity of its domestic credit industry. Nigeria’s domestic credit market pales in comparison to similar countries of the same size. For context, credit to the private sector in Nigeria is about 12 percent of GDP, lower than South Africa’s 129 percent and Malaysia’s 134 percent. High ratios of credit to the private sector in these countries have helped to ramp up real sector growth, create innovative innovation possibilities for technology-enabled businesses, accelerate financial development, ensure the efficient functioning of the economy and guarantee the prosperity of the private sector.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other development partners including the Bank of Industry (BoI), the Bank of Agriculture (BoA), among others have embarked on significant credit injections to support the critical sectors of the economy, but the paucity of credit assessment infrastructure ensures many potential borrowers are denied access to loans, and when they do, they can be charged as much as triple the base interest rate. This financial exclusion has significant outcomes for the real sector as lack of access to credit can be a disincentive to entrepreneurship, investment, and economic growth.
Canadian fintech startup and credit assessment company, Periculum, has launched in Nigeria to tackle the challenge of domestic credit to the underserved markets. Focused on improving financial inclusion in emerging markets through automated credit assessment tools that close the consumer credit gap and help financial institutions provide credit facilities to the financially excluded while making smarter decisions, Periculum officially launched its financial service product offerings at a media interaction today.
Speaking at the launch, Michael Temitope Collins, Periculum’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, said “Africa needs domestic credit to stimulate real economic growth. And this is not only bank-to-business credit; it can also be digital lending for short-term credit as well as “buy now, pay later” schemes. The absence of tech-enabled credit assessment infrastructure has limited the quality and quantity of lending and may be behind the risk premiums borrowers have to pay, and the harassment practiced by predatory lenders in countries like Nigeria. Periculum will change that. We are a top provider of data analytics and credit assessment services targeted explicitly to underserved markets. We help our customers to reduce their lengthy loan application processing times and loan default rates and offer loans to the underbanked and unbanked consumers as well as micro, small and medium-scale enterprises. With reliable, tech-enabled, credit assessment services, financial institutions can increase lending to those that need credit.”
The company has also announced the appointment of a Managing Director, Damilola Aluede, to accelerate its business in Nigeria.
Nigeria’s domestic credit market pales in comparison to similar countries of the same size
Founded in 2019, Periculum helps its banking and lending customers identify fraud risk, assess creditworthiness, and analyze existing data. Periculum offers real-time decision-making, analysis, and credit underwriting solutions to financial institutions including banks, non-banking financial companies, and fintech companies. By providing information on the financial worthiness of customers and automating the loan decision process, Periculum’s customers can gather and analyze borrower information and assign a credit score faster, with real outcomes on financial inclusion in Nigeria and other markets.
https://www.Periculum.io/media/
Periculum offers data aggregation APIs and platform solutions that aggregate data from partners including open banking APIs and the credit bureaus, to provide complete financial and data profiles of prospective borrowers and third-party entities. Some of its clients include Fundii, Lendaba, Sycamore, Golden Ox Partners, Vola Africa and Venero.
On its product roadmap and current services, Collins added “We offer services that include Credit model development, SMS data aggregation and analysis, financial data analysis, and other data analytic solutions. We can help our customers with solutions such as fraud detection, insights for lenders based on customer segmentation and customer lifecycle value, insights to retailers and ATM operators, and several other benefits”.
The startup was accepted into Techstars in 2021 and is among the 2021 Techstars Montréal AI cohort, as well as the Founder Institutes’ Select Portfolio. In October 2021, Periculum raised a $620,000 pre-seed funding round to help it expand its team, improve product development and scale its operations in Nigeria and other markets. The company currently delivers services to customers in Canada and Nigeria and plans to expand to Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt before the end of 2022.
For many countries in Africa, there is still a financial divide. By tackling the credit assessment challenge, Periculum can build the financial infrastructure that helps in addressing the issue of access to financial services and improves development outcomes for millions of people, with better opportunities for businesses, financial institutions, and lenders.
…Existing policies are designed to accelerate the delivery of digital economy benefits – Pantami
…We’re poised to deepening digital access – Danbatta
The Federal Government has applauded the commitment and dedication of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) towards enhancing digital skills development among youths, through implementation of various Information and Communication Technology skill acquisition programmes.
Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, gave the commendation during the inauguration of a Digital Nigeria Centre (DNC), a project executed by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an arm of NCC, at the Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ilesa, Osun State recently.
Representing President Muhamadu Buhari at the event, Aregbesola commended the NCC for timely and thorough implementation of the project, saying he was confident that the project will promote the connection of public secondary schools to broadband internet in Ilesa community and ultimately equip beneficiaries with 21st century skills.
“I would like to thank my very good friend and brother, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, for assenting to our request to have the first of this remodeled project in Osun State sited in Ilesa. I will also like to thank the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta and the entire Management and staff of NCC and the USPF, as well as their technical partners for a timely and successful completion of this laudable project,” he said.
On the sideline of the commissioning, Aregbesola also announced the establishment of President Muhammadu Buhari N100 million Technology Fund for Youth Empowerment, to nudge the emergence of world class technology experts. The Minister of Interior stated that the Fund targets 2,000 youths in the next two years, who will be provided with devices for training in different areas such as software development and design, amongst others.
The Governor of Osun State, Adegboyega Oyetola, who was represented by the State’s Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Babatunde Olawale, expressed the gratitude of the State Government to the Federal Government, the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and the Nigerian Communications Commission, for initiative and particularly for inaugurating the pioneer remodeled DNC project in Osun State. Oyetola also informed the enthusiastic gathering that Osun State Government was willing and ready to collaborate with NCC to replicate the project in other parts of the State.
Speaking in the same vein, Pantami, who was represented at the event by the Chairman, Board of Commissioners of NCC, Prof. Adeolu Akande, also commended the NCC and USPF on the delivery of the DNC project on behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He declared that the project and similarly instituted ones were initiated by government to give expression to its vision to effectively digitise the nation’s economy for increased prosperity for all Nigerians.
Pantami stated that the Federal Government is focused on promoting digital economy across the country and that this had informed the renaming of the Ministry of Communications to the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. On the heels of the re-christening, Pantami recalled that the Federal Government emplaced Digital Nigeria-oriented policies to reinforce the focus of existing policies in order to accelerate the delivery of derivable benefits of digital economy to Nigerians, regardless of their locations and circumstances.
Very central among the policies is the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020-2030, a 10-year, eight-pillar focused blueprint for actualising Federal Government’s digital economy agenda unveiled in November, 2019.
Pantami asserted that the DNC inaugurated at Ilesa was a concrete implementation of the Digital Literacy and Skills, the second pillar of NDEPS.
According to Pantami, the overarching objective of the DNC project is to facilitate adoption of digital lifestyle in the schools as well as in the school communities. The Minister averred that the project’s significance cannot be under-estimated, considering its ability to improve digital skill for the youths and subsequently make them globally competitive.
Pantami said the Nigerian government is determined to arm the youths with digital skills, strong literacy and numeracy skills, critical and innovative thinking skills, complex problem solving aptitude, the ability to collaborate, and deploy socio-emotional skills, which they require to transform their lives and build the economy.
“We have already made a number of giant strides in the development of our digital economy culture and the deployment of initiatives such as the Digital Nigeria Centre eloquently demonstrates the current administration’s commitment to connecting all Nigerians,” Pantami said as he equally expressed Federal Government’s commitment to its tripartite agenda of improving the economy, curbing corruption and enhancing national security through effective deployment of ICT in all nooks and crannies of the country.
In his remark, Danbatta, who was represented at the event by the Commission’s Director of Projects, Iyabode Solanke, said all the regulatory activities, initiatives and programmes that the Commission had undertaken since 2019, in collaboration with its critical stakeholders, including its arm, the USPF, have been targeted at giving concrete expression to Nigeria’s deliberate policy to migrate to a full digital economy.
He said the Commission achieves this by consistently committing itself to expansion of appropriate infrastructure to enhance digital literacy and skills in view of the economic and social impact of digitization on all sectors.
The NCC Chief Executive restated the Commission’s commitment to the overall objective of bridging the digital divide through the provision of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as well as broadband access to the unserved and underserved institutions and communities in the country.
Earlier, the Principal of Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ramota Ilesanmi, thanked the President Buhari-led Federal Government for the project, saying that it will go a long way in meeting the ICT needs of students and residents of the city.
The DNC, formerly known as School Knowledge Centre (SKC), is one of the projects in the Access Programme framework of the USPF, conceptualized to promote the availability and utilisation of ICT and resources of the Internet in teaching and learning in public schools in underserved, unserved and rural areas.
Specific objectives of DNC are to increase ICT literacy among school teachers and students; provide a platform for accessing online educational resources; equip students with ICT skills; facilitate ICT adoption in teaching and learning; as well as increase pass rate in Mathematics, English language and other science subjects.
Africa No Filter, a narrative change organisation, and Meta have announced a partnership to launch “Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds” program, aimed at boosting the use of Virtual Reality in Africa’s storytelling.
Supporting Extended Reality storytellers to develop new and compelling content about Africa, the program will provide grants and mentorship. “Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds” forms part of Meta’s focus on immersive technologies and Africa No Filter’s investments in innovative storytelling that shifts negative stereotypes about Africa.
Moky Makura, Executive Director at Africa No Filter, said, “Virtual Reality has the potential to take storytelling to another level. In this new metaverse, audiences don’t just get to watch a story unfold, they get to live in it. This is an opportunity for African content creators to push the boundaries of their creativity and innovation.”
Open from today, Africa No Filter and Meta are inviting Extended Reality creators to apply to the program, and recieve funding of up to $30,000. Applicants must be of African descent and living in the continent, aged over 18 years, have a track record of XR content creation and have a portfolio of work showing their creativity and innovation.
They also need to show how the proposed project will tell an exciting African story that changes stereotypical narratives about the continent. Projects can use 360 Video, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality.
The application is open to organisations and individuals.
Delivered in collaboration with Electric South and Imisi 3D, participants will also get ongoing mentorship, production support, and opportunities to launch their projects in a virtual or in-person showcase, including the Electric South’s Creators Lab held in February 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Commenting, Sherry Dzinoreva, Meta’s Public Policy Programs Director, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey said: “We’re excited to be partnering with ANF to launch a fund that brings together the best of the African tech ecosystem to showcase innovations for the future and tell positive stories about Africa. Meta sits at the intersection of innovation, technology, entrepreneurship and social connection, and this investment is a vote of confidence in the strength of the African tech industry and its ongoing potential. I’m certainly proud that Africa will be helping to shape the metaverse experience from the start.”
Applications close on 7 January 2022 at 6pm GMT. The program runs from 13 February to 13 August, 2022. Participants must be available on these dates. The proposed project must also be completed within six months.
WhatsApp, has announced the launch of #YouSaid, a campaign to educate people on how to verify information they come across before passing it on, to help reduce the spread of false news in Nigeria.
The campaign offers tips for WhatsApp users to spot false news and take responsibility in minimizing its spread, by encouraging people to think carefully and check authoritative sources before deciding to share any information with their friends and family.
“At WhatsApp, all personal messages are protected with end-to-end encryption because the safety and security of our users and their messages is important to us. ” Akua Gyekye, WhatsApp Public Policy Lead said while commenting on the launch of the campaign. “While we remain committed to creating a safe space for our users to communicate privately, we encourage everyone to verify any information they receive and confirm whether it is true or false before sharing it with other people. Regardless of the person you received the information from, as soon as you share any information, it becomes something people think #YouSaid. Our hope is that this campaign will open up a conversation on the importance of verifying information and thinking carefully about what people read, trust and choose to share” Gyekye added.
Here are four easy ways to reduce the spread of false news on WhatsApp
Understand what a ‘Forwarded’ message means: Any message that has the ‘forwarded’ label (an arrow or double arrow icon) did not start with the person who sent it to you. They will also have received it from someone else before passing it on to you. If you are not sure the information is true, do not forward it to someone else without verifying it.
A double arrow icon and “Forwarded many times” label will be displayed when a message has been forwarded more than five times since it was originally sent and will restrict sharing to just one chat at a time.
Always fact check information with other sources: False news can go viral, and photos, audio recordings, and videos can be edited to mislead you. If you’re unsure whether a message is true, check trusted news sites to see where the story came from. When a story is reported in multiple places and from trustworthy sources, it’s more likely to be true.
Look out for messages that look different: If you receive messages that have such things like misspelled words, wrong dates, awkward layouts, unrelated pictures and web addresses (URLs), it’s a sign that the information could be false.
Read the message objectively: Don’t let what you think you know get in the way of your judgment. Review the facts yourself before sharing information. Stories that seem hard to believe are often untrue.
Today, WhatsApp protects the personal communication of over two billion users all over the world, securing it with end-to-end encryption by default.
Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited, an indigenous Information Technology (IT) firm in Lagos has reiterated their commitment to bring robust broadband and internet solutions that would ease productivity for Nigerians in the post Covid 19 work place. The company introduced Z-Force, a super-fast internet service designed for Nigerians working from home and other notable services for other market segments lately.
Speaking to the media on importance of the Z-Force to the current work place, Chris Obasi, the Managing Director of Zeta–Web Nigeria Limited said “Our Z-Force service is unique in its design as it came out at a point where users wanted internet services with both speed and data that they can use while working remotely, void of the frequent intermittencies and high-cost associated with such requests. As you would agree with me, the global pandemic brought with it, different challenges and an uncharted path that a lot of businesses where ill-prepared for; but we saw it as an opportunity to change the way we think and operate, and this meant that we had to look at a product that acts as a best-fit to the need of our clients as well as meet the current demand and market trend.”
“Our unique selling point is One product that meets the unique need of every user, Fast installation, High Quality of Service, Fair Pricing and Excellent Customer Turnaround Response Time to mention a few. Z-Force is a hybrid product that serves both the SME market (Home office) and selective mass market – home users, online schooling, entertainment, etc.”, Chris added.
With a collection of world-class services & solutions, the company has repositioned itself as a one-stop centre for IT needs. In line with the global best practices, Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited has demonstrated a high level of commitment to customer support over the years which has brought accolades and recognition to them.
In the words of Chris Obasi, he said “Our unique selling point is that we listen to our customers before designing the desired product that meets their specific needs; as we know that the world is evolving and it is no more one product fits all.”
Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited is also bringing to the fore, enhanced solutions around Virtualization and IT Security Solutions for enterprises as well as IT/Cyber Security trainings for IT administrators and regular users that utilise enterprise systems. Aside all these, they are positioning their Cloud infrastructure (both private and public) as well as digital transformation as the best-fit for the Nigerian market.
Chris Obasi, Managing Director, Zeta Web Nigeria Limited
The company has been lauded as being innovative in their solutions offerings that has brought respite to the premium segment of the market.
Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited have designed enterprise solutions for businesses and large corporate organizations like banks, government establishments and large business conglomerates and their aim is to fill the gap of quality ICT Service Integration and Services by designing, implementing, operating and managing high-end enterprise networks, data center technologies and applications for their customers’ specific needs.
Their current product suites are being aligned to meet the new-normal and ensure their solutions help improve users’ IT environment, support their digital transformation journey, enhance their overall experience & processes and facilitate business growth; bringing customer satisfaction to a new height and giving clients respite. They are poised to provide solutions that will meet every customer’s unique requirement.
The company commended the regulator, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on their strides in the ecosystem and put forward that tax waivers and tax incentives be considered, such as eliminate multiple taxation and include tax reduction on OEMs equipment manufacturing and importation to encourage investors. On spectrum management, Obasi appealed to the regulator to make spectrum available at a fair price. He opined that “We need the government to create a sustainable and predictable spectrum allocation regime that makes useful frequency spectrum available at a fair price. They should also properly differentiate the market so that Telcos and ISPs do not overlap, by enacting laws that separate what markets can be serviced by each category of provider.”
Zeta-Web Limited is a company set up specifically to bridge the gap between quality solutions and services as well guaranteeing business success. Having started as an ISP about 7 years ago, today the company has diversified to other areas of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) such as Data Centre Services, Data Centre Virtualisation, Network Virtualisation, SDWAN, IT & Cybersecurity trainings, Broadband deployment, Business Solutions, Contact Centres and many more.
“Our unique selling point is that we listen to our customers before designing the desired product that meets their specific needs; as we know that the world is evolving and it is no more one product fits all.”
As an Internet Service Provider (ISP), do you think that internet services are overpriced in Nigeria?
The Internet Services space in Nigeria in my opinion is fairly priced, considering the environmental and economic challenges we have to endure – lack of stable electricity, frequent vandalization of fiber-lay path, unstable exchange rate, multiple taxations from Local level to Federal level and so much more.
These challenges are experienced by most businesses in-country and Service Providers are offering to their subscribers to the best of their ability a bouquet of value-add packages that are pocket-friendly. You also need to understand that in this industry, the cost of capacity to Service Providers will always determine the selling price to the end-users if we wish to stay profitable. Internet services can only be fairly-priced to the extent capacity providers push-out and price their bulk capacity to ISPs. Nonetheless, we listened to the market and with the advent of the global pandemic and the remote-working that a lot of businesses have had to adopt since last year, we are fast-tracking on solutions and services that will give businesses peace of mind – one of such is working on a simplified bundled service that allows users (corporate or individual) to enjoy the best of internet, voice-data and video without exhausting their data or paying premium i.e. More Data for Less – thereby ensuring maximum productivity and profitability to businesses in Nigeria.
You have been in business for over 7 years now, started as ISP now diversified into other spheres of IT, how has the journey been?
The journey has been quite interesting, when I look back at our how we gradually diversified by developing our competencies in IT Solutions, and evolved our business model to foster a great relationship through partnership with industry giants; it gives me a high sense of satisfaction at our accomplishments. We cannot understate the challenges that come with these. Our team worked hand-in-glove with these customers to get quality feedback regarding the different services in their environment that were either not working, poorly implemented or needs to be optimized. These and more gave us a good direction that allowed us to embed our unique touch to IT services and solutions offerings. As a business, we have also been able to contribute our quota to the ongoing digital transformation journey in Nigeria, by ensuring that any business can get what they need from a single provider, which ensures full optimization across their IT infrastructure and is cost-effective. The testament of this success is with our customer base that spans across different industries and sectors in Nigeria that trust us. In as much as we acknowledge that the challenges are enormous and constantly evolving, we are determined to stake our claim in this space.
You recently introduced Z-FORCE service, how has it been and how well has it been accepted in Nigeria?
Our Zforce service is unique in its design as it came out at a point where users wanted internet services with both speed and data that they can use while working remotely, void of the frequent intermittencies and high-cost associated with such requests. As you would agree with me, the global pandemic brought with it, different challenges and an uncharted path that a lot of businesses where ill-prepared for; but we saw it as an opportunity to change the way we think and operate, and this meant that we had to look at a product that acts as a best-fit to the need of our clients as well as meet the current demand and market trend. In the area of aftersales support which is always a problem in our environment, we continue to run a 24-hour support service and this has also enhanced the acceptability of Zforce in the market. Currently this service is only available in Lagos, but we are increasing our service coverage to cover at least other major cities and the underserved communities across Nigeria.
What are the unique selling points of Z-FORCE as a product?
Our unique selling point is One product that meets the unique need of every user, Fast installation, High Quality of Service, Fair Pricing and Excellent Customer Turnaround Response Time to mention a few. Z-Force is a hybrid product that serves both the SME market (Home office) and selective mass market – home users, online schooling, ‘entertainment’, etc.
Chris Obasi, The Managing Director, Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited
Tell us about your FibreSat solution and the areas of coverage?
FiberSat is an innovative product that derives its name from a combination of services- Fiber and VSAT, one acts as the primary link while the second is a backup in the instance of service failure. It enables us to provide redundancy/backup with an uptime of 99.98%, compared to the industry uptime of 98%. It means we empower businesses to switch as need be during service disruption without their operations being impacted. FiberSat is available in major cities nationwide.
With Your broadband solution for home use, now that people are working from home, how pricey is it and the speed?
It is cost effective, as we had to invest and work with our partner ecosystem to provide the hardware at no cost or on free lease to our customers. We provide a solution that will meet every customer’s unique requirement.
How can the government create policies that would enable indigenous ISP firms like yours scale?
We need the government to create a sustainable and predictable spectrum allocation regime that makes useful frequency spectrum available at a fair price. They should also properly differentiate the market so that Telcos and ISPs do not overlap, by enacting laws that separate what markets can be serviced by each category of provider. Internet access should be treated as a right of all citizens and as such ISPs should be given tax incentives accordingly – eliminate multiple taxation and include tax reduction on OEMs equipment manufacturing and importation to encourage investors. Protection of our infrastructure and also support us more by ensuring the industry has access to foreign exchange at the official rate. Finally, provision of long-term loans with very minimal interest rates to new and existing ISPs to support their overall operation.
Tell us more about ZETA Business solutions and what segment of market it is designed for?
“Our unique selling point is that we listen to our customers before designing the desired product that meets their specific needs; as we know that the world is evolving and it is no more one product fits all”
As an ICT Solutions Provider, you have various solutions like Data Centre services, structured cabling and switching services etc. how has the market accepted these solutions and what are your unique selling points?
Our unique selling point is that we listen to our customers before designing the desired product that meets their specific needs; as we know that the world is evolving and it is no more one product fits all. Secondly, the market’s methodology about Data Centres and WAN has gone in the Software-defined direction and our portfolio has been robust enough to accommodate this shift in demand. Our range of Structured Cabling and Switching solutions deliver quality throughputs and serve as a solid foundation for data centre services of all kinds. Our flexibility, in-depth professional knowledge and customer-centric approach stands us out in the market.
This is a new year, what are the solutions that Nigerians should expect from you?
Tell us about your Collaboration Services and your Contact Centre Solutions. Are you open to mid-market players?
In the past, Collaboration was assumed to be within an office or one organization. Now, Collaboration has broken boundaries of the typical office network and has reached across all of the Internet and Cloud Infrastructure. Cloud-based collaboration solutions in the form of software as a service (SaaS) is readily available for a wide range of customer type including mid-sized firms. The advantage is that these solutions are scalable and so you can start small and scale up as you grow.
Our Call Centre Solutions are robust and have crossed the boundaries of the basic voice-based call centre and IVRs, to multichannel contact centres that have multiple touchpoints including Social Media and Chat Bots. The need to constantly engage and have successful dialogues with customers and employees as well as putting information on products and services out there without increasing operating cost is one aspect, we are mindful of.
As an IT stakeholder, what is your take on Nigerians hosting and having their data hosted locally, do you think that there are advantages to this?
Nigeria has come a long way from when there were no standard tiered data centres in-country and 100% of Internet content was outside our shores. Now we have a lot of content developers, Intellectual property owners and organisations with content and Internet-based products meant for consumption by the Nigerian market. A good example is the different payment gateways we have now, make room for all of these contents to remain in-country to ensure good application response time and overall better performance of products and services. Also, the content remaining in-country improves the economy, as fees that would otherwise be paid to ferry the traffic outside our shores and host it outside our shores is now paid to local providers; thereby boosting our economy. The main challenge for now is in generating alternative source of energy which is not cost-effective and is currently being used to manage downtime and availability, which is an essential and critical aspect of data hosting.
“Our Z-Force service is unique in its design as it came out at a point where users wanted internet services with both speed and data that they can use while working remotely, void of the frequent intermittencies and high-cost associated with such requests.”
In this interview, the Chief Executive Officer of Silex Secure Lab Limited, Nsikak Joseph Nelson talks about the information technology (IT) ecosystem in Abuja, how the company has been able to develop home made solutions that have enables organisations to scale up their businesses in Abuja and Northern Region. He also talks about the need for government to create an enabling environment through policies that would encourage indigenous software development firms. Anthony Nwosu captures this in an exclusive interview.
Tell us more about Silex Secure Lab Limited?
SILEX SECURE LAB LIMITED is a leading Nigerian IT company duly registered in 2014 with its office in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. Silex Secure Lab offers services in Cyber Security, Software development, Programming, Data analytics, Cloud computing, Animation, Website development, Fintech, business processes and solutions. We blend Business and Internet Intelligence by developing innovative cyber investigative, encrypted communications and business solutions that are targeted at enabling our clients operate more efficiently.
Over the years, we have offered our services to Nigerian Government Agencies, Private companies and individuals. As a CSR company, we have trained over 200 web developers in Abuja, the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Jos and other cities.
As an IT firm based in Abuja, how has it been appreciating your services in the Northern region?
It has been pretty good and you know this is the Federal Capital City where a lot of people including governmental and corporate organizations think the best IT companies are in Lagos, but you won’t blame them. A lot of Information Technology (IT) firms in this area have their existing customers most of them have been focusing on governmental project, while others are servicing the informal sector however you look at it, we have got a lot of clients whom we have served and appreciate us for rendering exceptional services and giving them value for their money in a simple and effective way. We strongly believe that the IT ecosystem is robust and there is no need heading to Lagos for IT solutions.
Do you have these solutions and software developed in-house?
All our software solutions are developed in-house. From UI/UX to front end, backend and Mobile Apps are done in-house; as a matter of fact, we have a vibrant and energetic team comprising of developers, UI/UX designers, Cyber security experts, Mobile App working on various innovative solutions and products. As a software development & a cyber security company, we totally understand the importance of intellectual property especially with the uniqueness of the products we develop. So as an organisation, we ensure we develop and build capacity around these areas in line with the global best practices. We deliver these solutions to our clients and we are proud that we developed them in-house and they have been working efficiently.
How efficient is your Self Tracer software and do you think that government facilities can deploy them for security purposes?
As guardians and parents are busy today, we understand that they need to keep a tab on their wards and kids so we developed such a solution. Our self-Tracer apps is so special to us, we developed this app basically for parental control but as time evolved, we saw the need of extending the services to corporate organisations and government agencies. Talking of effectiveness, the app is so effective, the sole purpose is to monitor the movement of yourself and family especially in this current security situation, there is need for self-tracing and when there is an emergency with a click on the apps you can notify your family member or anyone you add on hotspot on your current location and if for any reason your phone is turned-off and SIM card is changed, Once the phone is turned back on the apps will notify the admin through the cloud-based system.
Again, this can be fully effective for law enforcement agency for tracking of asset and monitoring communication against insider threat. Other components of the app include Internet Filter, communication filter on social media etc, Website Blocker, GPS Tracking, Remote Control. But again, there is always a privacy to talk about which, in developing this app, we also took into consideration.
Again, this can be fully effective for law enforcement agency for tracking of asset and monitoring communication against insider threat. Other components of the app include Internet Filter, communication filter on social media etc, Website Blocker, GPS Tracking, Remote Control. But again, there is always a privacy to talk about which, in developing this app, we also took into consideration.
As Nigerians are more into mobility, what is the unique feature of your phone encryption technology and how can you work hand in hand with Telcos?
Wow! Our end-to-end encryption is one of the best things that has happened to Silex Secure and one of the local products in Africa cyber security arena. What we have done as a company is not all about call encryption but more of a state-of-the-art mobile security solution. Some of the amazing features are listed on; http://silexscrypt.com.ng/. Let us take a look at Secure File sharing, one of the key features of the app, which guides against data leak in organisations, you know as at now any information that comes to your phone can be easily shared to others, I mean important documents but we made it in such a way that the original owner of the data has the right to grant permission to a recipient of the file and if permission isn’t granted from the owner, that file can’t be shared, so in a way the originator of the file has full control on who gets access to the file.
Our primary goal of making an encrypted solution for mobile user is to provide Total Privacy and absolute security to mobile users which also applies to calls and also solves the problem of leaked conversations which is often so common in our society today, at least we have seen and read on the news on how High profile, politicians and celebrities and business executives’ private conversations are leaked to the public domain, including personal information, business transactions etc. Working with telecoms provider will be a welcome development we can provide this service as an exclusive product to subscriber.
You develop software in house; can we know what you have developed and where you have deployed?
Yes, we have developed innovative Mobile Apps projects. We currently features a number of projects, but let’s look at just a few: The Towing Apps; this is the easiest and most convenient way to request for a Tow Truck; Just Tap and Tow! Once you set your pickup location, select a Tow Truck of your choice to help you when you need a Tow Truck to rescue you or you just need help with a flat battery or flat tire. Another one is the “Barber Apps” this app is designed for salons. The Salon.ng is a mobile platform for barbers and clients, modernizing the barbershop experience. With Salon.ng you can turn on your apps location, send a request within your location, a close barber sees the request, accepts the request and moves to your location to cut your hair.
We aslo have the “eCounsel Apps”: the eCOUNSEL is an online platform set up to revolutionize the way legal service is accessed. The world of work is evolving and to thrive in this new reality, we are focused on using data and technology as a tool to make legal help more easily accessible by all Nigerians. Then we looked at the cooking gas supply chain ecosystem and built a solution around that space. We called it “Gas Apps”. This is an On-demand gas/fuel/diesel delivery service that delivers fuel to vehicles and diesel for generators and gas for cooking cylinders in any location. This service could come in handy in case of emergency where perhaps a person is stranded on the highway or at home or work. It works in a similar pattern like Uber & bolt Apps.
What about solutions built around intelligence and information gathering, now that we are trying to deepen our security apparatus in the country?
We have designed the OSINT SOLUTIONS that offer direct solutions to the questions around intelligence and information gathering for security agencies. This is a Social Media Intelligence and OSINT products that makes use of and transforms public data such as Social Media and Deep & Dark Web into valuable intelligence. Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) platforms support collection and analysis of relevant and targeted information relating to criminal and political open sources. This tool has wide benefits for a number of industries, including; Government and Defence Intelligence agencies, Law Enforcement, Commercial Risk Management companies, and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). We also have developed an End-to-Encryption Solutions.
Through our flagship “Invest in Technology” Initiative, which gives people the opportunity to invest in innovative solutions targeted at various sectors, some of our commercial apps are open for outright sales or investment, i.e. for people who are willing to invest their funds in smart technological solutions like ours. Most of our application are being deployed to Private companies, Public sectors, individual and multinational companies.
Do you think that the government is doing enough to ensure that indigenous IT firms like yours scale?
Well, for us as a company, we look beyond government knowing that government can’t meet everyone’s demand. However, government has a major role to play in policy making, provision of infrastructure & patronage and open access to local companies. But this is where we are now, At Silexsecure we build most of our products for international Market not depending on Nigerian government to do business. That is the beauty of Technology. Policy wise not much is being done, intervention funds nothing much is done and in terms of palliative, not much is done either.
Take for example, during this lockdown most of our developers were working remotely, we had to make sure we provide alternative sources of power like Generator and Solar Power for our developer so as to meet projects schedules. Again, you should understand the impact of that to our business if most of our developers staying in various places have access to power and good internet, we won’t spend so much on running cost as a company.
Capacity building and training are the things you do. Can we know how this has been?
Capacity building can’t be over emphasised. As a company, we have done tremendously well in that aspect, we started by training Students in Nigerian universities narrowing down to Government agencies and Law enforcement agencies. Right now, we are doing tailored training based on the products we develop. So we feel training should be attached to a product. Take for an example, Our OSINT project enables us set up training in the area of intelligence and information gathering for security agencies. While we are still accommodating student in Cyber Security, which is a core area of specialization, overall remark has been very impressive, the testimonials are there for people to see.
What are we to expect from you this last quarter?
This is mind blowing, you should expect more innovative solutions from us. As a company we are diving deep to international markets. Right now I am sure sooner or later we will tell you of our ground-breaking technology in the international scene. But be rest assured that we are making Nigerians proud, we are focusing more on Artificial Intelligence which will majorly be used by Defence and military operations, community policing and the AVIATION Sector. So, there is more to expect from us.
Do you think that the Covid 19 will make Nigerian firms to deploy robust IT solution for greater productivity?
This is the time for everyone to think deep. I am sure you have read of innovative and robust solutions that have been developed by various companies in Nigeria within the lock down, though productivity has increased since a lot of companies like ours adopted personal and meaningful products. Imagine all technology companies in Nigeria having their products, I mean personal products not client product knowing fully the impact of this to the economy. But I must tell you productivity in the technology space is very high right now. We have seen clients who have spent so much on freelance platforms, outsourcing jobs to Indian guys, come to us, people really want to take control of most of the product they are developing so on that note I could say Covid-19 is a blessing in disguise. So, I think personally, this is when African countries should really overtake the west.
What are the challenges that you face as an IT firm?
They are the normal challenges that every growing businesses face in Nigeria such as poor Infrastructure, non-existent Government policies/ Enabling Environment, Competition. Though we can’t assume to be a monopoly in a capitalist setting but a bit of protectionist policies matter. Also, Market Access-Intra Africa Trade, Access to capital and Finding the Right developers or skilled I.T personnel to help us scale.
If you are to advice government on IT, what would be your take?
It is a straightforward thing, I would say, that they should encourage local technology and setup an innovative centre where they can easily access local software and purchase some of these great technological solutions for local consumption and deployment. They should also fund local companies to meet government demands. invest in idea, build a better frame work for funding local technology. And lastly, proper policy frame work to guide local content.
“THE WORLD OF WORK IS EVOLVING AND TO THRIVE IN THIS NEW REALITY, WE ARE FOCUSED ON USING DATA AND TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL TO MAKE LEGAL HELP MORE EASILY ACCESSIBLE BY ALL NIGERIANS. THEN WE LOOKED AT THE SUPPLY CHAIN ECOSYSTEM AND BUILT A SOLUTION AROUND THAT SPACE. WE CALLED IT “GAS APP”. THIS IS AN ON-DEMAND GAS/FUEL/DIESEL DELIVERY SERVICE THAT DELIVERS FUEL TO VEHICLES AND DIESEL FOR GENERATORS AND GAS FOR COOKING CYLINDERS IN ANY LOCATION. THIS SERVICE COULD COME IN HANDY IN CASE OF EMERGENCY WHERE PERHAPS A PERSON IS STRANDED ON THE HIGHWAY OR AT HOME OR WORK. IT WORKS IN A SIMILAR PATTERN LIKE UBER & BOLT APPS.”
Aimed at supporting the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region, the office is expected to become operational in H2 2021
As part of its continued commitment and ongoing investment in Africa, Facebook (www.Facebook.com) today announced it will be opening an office in Lagos, Nigeria – its second office on the African continent. Aimed at supporting the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region, the office is expected to become operational in H2 2021 and will be the first on the continent to house a team of expert engineers building for the future of Africa and beyond.
Facebook’s office will be home to various teams servicing the continent from across the business, including Sales, Partnerships, Policy, Communications as well as Engineers.
Commenting, Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Head of New Product Experimentation said: “The opening of our new office in Lagos, Nigeria presents new and exciting opportunities in digital innovations to be developed from the continent and taken to the rest of the world. All across Africa we’re seeing immense talent in the tech ecosystem, and I’m proud that with the upcoming opening of our new office, we’ll be building products for the future of Africa, and the rest of the world, with Africans at the helm. We look forward to contributing further to the African tech ecosystem.”
The investment of the new Facebook office follows the 2018 opening of NG_Hub, its first flagship community hub space in Africa in partnership with CcHub, and the 2019 opening of a Small Business Group (SBG) Operations Centre in Lagos, in partnership with Teleperformance. Providing outsourced support to all English-speaking advertisers across Sub-Saharan Africa, the SBG office supports Small Medium Businesses (SMBs) through its Advocacy, Community & Education (ACE) programme, as well as its Marketing Expert sales programmes – all aimed at enabling SMBs to accelerate the growth and development of their businesses.
“Our new office in Nigeria presents an important milestone which further reinforces our ongoing commitment to the region”, commented Kojo Boakye, Facebook’s Director of Public Policy, Africa. “Our mission in Africa is no different to elsewhere in the world – to build community and bring the world closer together, and I’m excited about the possibilities that this will create, not just in Nigeria, but across Africa.”
Since the opening of its first office in 2015, Facebook has made a number of investments across the continent, aimed at supporting and growing the tech ecosystem, expanding and providing reliable connectivity infrastructures and helping businesses to grow locally, regionally and globally. This includes the recent rollout of its SMB Grants programme in Nigeria and South Africa, aimed at supporting over 900 businesses by providing a combination of cash and ad credits to help small businesses as they rebuild from COVID. The development of 2Africa, the world’s largest subsea cable project that will deliver much needed internet capacity and reliability across large parts of Africa, as well as its ongoing training programmes across the continent which support various communities including students, SMBs, digital creatives, female entrepreneurs, start-up’s and developers.
Nunu Ntshingila, Regional Director, Facebook Africa,said: “We’re delighted to be announcing our new office in Nigeria. Five years on from opening our first office on the continent in Johannesburg, South Africa, we’re continuing to invest in and support local talent, as well as the various communities that use our platforms. The office in Lagos will also be key in helping to expand how we service our clients across the continent.”Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Facebook.
…As NCC rewards winners of Covid-19 Virtual Hackathon
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has advocated the need for all stakeholders to join hands with the Ministry and its agencies in their quest to promote the development of indigenous digital solutions in Nigeria.
Pantami made the call during the presentation of N3 million prize money to each of the three promising startups that emerged winners in the COVID-19 Virtual Hackathon organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja on Tuesday, September 1, 2020.
The Virtual Hackathon was initiated by NCC to ignite the Nigerian youths to develop adaptable and innovative digital solutions that can address some of the challenges that have come about as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The start-ups who made it to the top three are Elizade University Team, Primed E-Health Solutions and Cyberfleet. The Elizade University Team’s tech solution is an Automated Temperature Scanner (ATS), a device designed to conduct automatic temperature screening and contact tracing of persons with body temperature above the normal level for human beings.
Primed E-Health developed a mobile and web solution called SmartClinic, which can link a patient-based mobile health app with a hospital-based information management system while ‘KlassConnect’ by Cyberfleet is an online platform that can be deployed by schools to continue with teaching and learning activities regardless of any health challenges that may prevent face-to-face physical interactions.
Speaking at the event, Pantami commended the leadership of the Commission for embarking on the tech contest. He said the initiative is not only in tandem with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) but also aligns with the implementation of the Executive Order 003, which aims to promote indigenous content development and patronage in Nigeria.
“No country will develop without taking deliberate decisions to promote its indigenous solutions to solve national problems. Through this contest, the NCC has demonstrated its resolve to drive the Ministry’s efforts in leveraging indigenous digital solutions to address challenges thrown up by COVID-19 pandemic and beyond,” the Minister said.
The COVID-19 Virtual Hackathon is a follow-up to the first hackathon by the Commission, which culminated in the hosting of an ‘ICT Innovation, Competition/Exhibition Forum’ at the Lagos Campus of Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in December, 2019. At the end of the maiden edition, three (3) Startups namely, Quataloog, Wicrypt and Phaheem Nigeria Limited emerged winners.
The annual Hackathon is part of the strategic initiatives of the Commission to promote ICT innovation and investment in the Nigerian telecommunications sector and improve the nation’s competitiveness in the global digital economy.
Speaking earlier at the prize-giving ceremony, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC. Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the hackathon is expected to throw up innovative and adaptable solutions in five thematic areas namely health, community, productivity, economy and education.
Danbatta stated that the Commission is committed to encourage innovation and has regularly sponsored Nigerian youths with innovative ideas to various competitions organised by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and other international bodies.
“The NCC, has in the past two years, facilitated similar ICT-based innovations and research competitions among tertiary institutions in the country” he said, while reiterating the NCC’s commitment to driving indigenous digital innovations to address national challenges.
Director, Research and Development, Dr. Henry Nkemadu, stated that the Commission received 282 proposals and shortlisted 56 from which three promising startups emerged winners. He said the NCC will track the development of their ideas into full-blown products that can be deployed on a commercial basis.
NCC is committed to enabling home-grown digital innovative solutions that improve the quality of lives of the citizenry, create wealth and achieve the overall goals and objectives of the new digital economy agenda of the Federal Government.
The appointment of Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the energic young man to pilot the affairs the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) one year ago has seen the agency making tremendous strides through intervention, implementation, regulation and execution of IT policies to the amazement of Nigerians! He didn’t come “tasting the waters” as it is the normal thing in most government establishments, he did hit the “ground running” with the zeal of a spartan. The Director General has piloted the affairs of NITDA to a level that admirers and those who opposed him has come to give him kudos, like a Northern star, his strides have remained constant.
Nations all over the world are preparing and making concerted efforts for Revolution 4.0, known in some other places as 4th Industrial Revolution. A period that global economy would be powered by information technology (IT) tools such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT). NITDA, as an agency is primed and positioned to spearhead Nigeria’s migration to this 4.0. Kashifu has demonstrated the will to lead this strenuous migration, but doing so with tact and ease.
He has shown that he is adept and experienced in the IT ecosystem. In his words, “I am at home being at the helm of affairs in NITDA. As a person that is open to new approaches and strategies, with the experiences I have gained for the last 15 years in the IT sector spanning between the private and the public sector and through unceasing study, my team and I have worked diligently to ensure the continuous development of the IT sector in Nigeria over the past 10 months. Remember, I picked it up from a good place to consolidate upon, considering the foundation laid by my boss and mentor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami).”
With robust roadmap to work with, this past one year has shown Kashifu working in tandem with the existing roadmap especially on the area of capacity building. NITDA is implementing a strategic roadmap for the development of Nigeria’s IT sector. It consists of 7 pillars that are in alignment with the 8 pillars of the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy. The 7 key pillars of our Roadmap are IT Regulation, Capacity Building, Digital Inclusion, Digital Job Creation, Government Digital Service Promotion, Local Content Development, and Cybersecurity.
“We have rolled out several policies, regulations, and programs, focusing on those areas. However, as the roadmap is set to expire this year as is the Nigeria Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) which it draws from. NITDA has already commenced reviewing it as well as developing the next plan, which will soon be launched”, Kashifu said on programs and implementation.
“…with my boss and mentor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) as the Honorable Minister, the efforts have resulted the development of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, during the 2019 e-Nigeria International Conference, Exhibition and Awards, held on the November 28th, 2019. The NDEPS effectively replaces the National IT Policy”
In Africa today, Nigeria is a critical market, leading the pack as an investment destination and as a beautiful bride to the venture capitalists (VC),the country occupied the first position with a total investment of US $747 Million, followed by Kenya with a total investment of US $564 Million and Egypt that attracted a total investment of US $211 Million. The DG understands this and have demonstrated readiness for this by bringing up schemes and policies that will leapfrog the sector. The NITDA Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme is one of these scheme targeting startups hub owners and youth with talent and building their skills in high-demand skills. Policies such as Tax Incentives for startups, incentives for investors and access to market for innovation adoption. Establishment of Innovation and Research Fund to further catalyze the growth of startups and there are rigorous plans to ensure we retain about 100,000 ICT Jobs and create an additional 30,000 in the Post COVID-19 Era.
On the area of support of indigenous OEMs, Software development and scalability of IT firms in the country. NITDA under Kashifu is desirous to see that Nigerian IT firms survive and are also protected in a “dog eat dog” world of IT where big corporations give no room for competition. This one year of Kashifu’s handling of affairs of NITDA has shown that the indigenous OEMs enjoyed a three times patronage compared to the other times. The agency as of recent spearheaded an increment in indigenous IT firms participation in the ecosystem. Kashifu ensured that local IT firms are given preference in the scheme of things there by making them profitable, scalable and sustainable.
In line with this mandate kashifu said “It is a fact that the purchase of local devices by MDAs is unprecedented within these years compared to previous years before 2018. For instance, in 2015-2016 less than 250,000 devices were sold by indigenous OEMs. However, due to the intervention of NITDA, records show that in 2018/2019 alone OEMs sold three times the numbers sold prior to 2017 with about 778,886 of locally assembled devices sold in 2018 and 2019.”
He added “NITDA is implementing the Executive Order and Guidelines vigorously through active surveillance and IT Projects assessment and clearance process of the Agency. Nevertheless, procurement law requires OEMs to either bid directly or work with other contractors to bid to ensure transparency and value for money. If MDAs violate the process NITDA can then be notified for action.”
Not only giving preference to local brand, NTDA ensured that the local OEM adhere to the global best practices. Kashifu said that there is also a challenge with the quality of product of some of the indigenous brands. NITDA is making strenuous effort to address this challenge, in 2018, the agency mandated these OEMs to go through a rigorous certification process requiring them to have ISO 9001:2015 for quality management systems. This is believed that it will spur these OEMs to provide products that meet quality and regulatory requirements always as it done in the Western World. Presently, only 3 out of 10 previously registered OEMs have been fully certified.
The agency is working with the Federal Government on the area of IT policy making, implementation and intervention in line with thrusting the nation into a digital economy. NITDA from August 2019 to date has launched and is implementing the following regulatory instruments: Nigeria e-Government Interoperability Framework (Ne-GIF) Nigeria Cloud Computing Policy (NCCP)Nigeria ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Vision (NIIEV), Framework and Guidelines for ICT adoption in Tertiary Institutions, Guidelines for Nigeria Content Development ICT as amended; and Data Protection Implementation Framework.
In the last 1 year that Kashifu has been in the office, NITDA has established 80 Digital Capacity Training Centers (DCTCs) with E-Learning facilities, 6 IT Hubs, 6 IT Community Centers, 4 IT Innovation & Incubation Parks, and 3 IT Capacity Training Centers – all with the aim of bridging the digital divide and providing access to the unserved and underserved population. Not yet done, though with an eye on the futuristic 4th industrial revolution, the DG understands the current realities of Corona Virus, its impact and how to emerge in a Post Covid 19 stronger. Having this in mind, Kashifu spearheaded the establishment of Tech4COVID19 Initiative – This initiative is set to measure the impact of COVID-19 on the tech ecosystem and proffer solutions especially for startups. Also, the establishment of Virtual Startup Clinic where Startups and mostly young people to meet with mentors, successful entrepreneurs, investors, industry specialists, business consultants and hub operators with the goal of solving problems and challenges they were facing. And finally, the Nigeria COVID-19 Innovation Challenge. This is online innovation challenge where youths proffer solutions on the challenges the society is facing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 5 startups with highly innovative ideas were selected for the final challenge and 3 of them were selected for further incubation. A support of ₦1 000,000 ₦750,000 and ₦500,000 were won by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd winners respectively. This past one year has seen a turn around in NITDA’s activities, with constant pushing of narratives and adopting to the current realities under Kashifu Abdullahi, he has within a short period of time shown that it is what it is, which is proving that a young man can change an agency within a short time under the mentorship of his predecessor.
As a team player, Kashifu is working with the Minister of Digital Economy, Isa Pantami on the best ways to position the country so as to reap the immense benefits in ICT sector and also drive the country’s diversification from oil and gas to IT, making Nigeria an IT destination. “…with my boss and mentor, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) as the Honorable Minister, the efforts have resulted the development of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, during the 2019 e-Nigeria International Conference, Exhibition and Awards, held on the November 28th, 2019. The NDEPS effectively replaces the National IT Policy”, he concluded at a recent chat.
“NITDA has established 80 Digital Capacity Training Centers (DCTCs) with E-Learning facilities, 6 IT Hubs, 6 IT Community Centers, 4 IT Innovation & Incubation Parks, and 3 IT Capacity Training Centers”
