The Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT), of the newly inaugurated Nigerian Association of Information Technology Enabled Outsourcing Companies (NAITEOC), Mr. Chris Uwaje, Thursday in Abuja, said the association was targeting about $100 billion as annual remittances to the economy from the export of software outsourcing from Nigeria.
Uwaje made the disclosure during the inauguration of the six-member BoT by the acting Director-General of the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA), Mr. Sanni Daura. NITDA is an agency under the supervision of the Ministry of Communications Technology.
The software expert expressed confidence that Nigeria could do much than India and several other Asian countries because it was highly blessed with the much needed human knowledge and skills to generate such money into the economy.
He added that it was only through the Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) that the country could create between five and 10 million jobs for its citizens.
“We can do much more than India and China in generating more than 10 million jobs and even exceed our Diaspora remittance of $20 billion annually,” he said.
He hinted that the formal composition of the board which had taken a long time to come to fruition was one of the major achievements of the present administration, urging government to support the outsourcing industry with policies that would stimulate its members to deliver on its mandate.
“This is a task that must be done, and I want to believe with all my colleagues, who are pioneer of the industry and who have been yearning for the establishment of the BPO, that with this responsibility entrusted on us, we assure you that working with NITDA is to ensure that all our best and expertise are put to bear and achieve fruitful venture for Nigeria,” he said.
In an earlier remark, the acting DG, explained that the inauguration of the board represented a great milestone in the nation’s march towards job creation and foreign exchange earnings.
He said: “On behalf of NITDA, I welcome all of you to this important milestone in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) world, in the outsourcing industry. This is important landmark in the journey which started many years ago.
“In 2011, we had the first outsourcing conference, and there was a resolution that an association be established similar to what we have in India and Ghana.”
Though the journey was slow, Daura admitted, “but eventually we have arrived.” According to him, the NAITEOC board is the highest body of the software practitioners or associations in the country, adding that they give direction on the need to drive the association.
“I will urge all of us to work hard so as to move the industry forward and make Nigeria a very important outsourcing hub not only in Africa but in the world. “It is a challenge; we have the national outsourcing policy which we want to come into reality or force. In the drive towards meeting your responsibilities NITDA will be around to support you. “We will give you all the needed support to take off.”
THISDAY
© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. |
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posted in Business by Tunde LEMUEL