The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, revealed the initiative during the 8th annual conference of the Network of African Data Protection Authorities, which began yesterday in Abuja.
The three-day conference, titled “Balancing Innovation in Africa: Data Protection and Privacy in Emerging Technologies,” attracted participants from more than 30 African countries, as well as Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the United States.
Dr. Tijani stressed that the academy is part of Nigeria’s strategy to capitalize on the benefits of the digital economy by providing stakeholders with the tools they need to navigate the perilous data governance landscape.
According to Tijani, this project will give Nigerians the opportunity to acquire practical skills in data protection.
“Recognizing the opportunity across our continent, we have also created a digital trade desk, a one-stop platform to promote Nigeria’s export needs while unlocking global market opportunities for technology companies.
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Meanwhile, Vincent Olatunji, National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission, highlighted Nigeria’s recent data governance milestones during his speech.
Olatunji noted that within a few years of the commission’s creation, the data protection ecosystem had generated a cumulative revenue of over $10 million and created about 23.000 jobs.
Olatunji urged African countries that have not yet enacted data protection laws to do so, stressing that “robust data protection frameworks are not barriers to innovation, but rather enablers of a resilient and inclusive digital economy.”
