The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has handed over its Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre in Enugu to the Enugu State Government under a 15-year operational lease, with the facilities expected to support digital skills development, startup incubation and technology-enabled businesses.
The facilities were conceived to develop digital skills, support entrepreneurs, attract investment and create jobs, particularly in business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Enugu, NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida, said the facilities should be judged by the economic and human-capital opportunities they create rather than the infrastructure itself.
“These facilities were conceived as platforms for innovation, entrepreneurship and human capital development.
“They were designed to deepen digital skills, support startups, attract investment, create jobs and position Nigeria as a competitive destination for business process outsourcing, knowledge process outsourcing and other technology-enabled services.”
Maida said the handover was intended to move the facilities from physical infrastructure to productive use, with emphasis on skills, enterprise and employment noting that “Buildings alone do not create innovation. People do. Ideas do. Entrepreneurs do. And partnerships bring all these elements together.”
He said the success of the facilities would ultimately depend on their practical impact on skills development, business creation and job opportunities.
The NCC chief executive said the partnership was also expected to support Enugu’s ambition to develop as a destination for digital services, artificial intelligence, startup incubation, outsourcing, research and other technology-enabled enterprises.
He linked the initiative to Nigeria’s wider digital economy priorities, including digital infrastructure, digital literacy, innovation and indigenous content development, as well as the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1tn economy driven by productivity, innovation and private-sector growth.
Maida said the growing influence of artificial intelligence, automation and other digital technologies made investment in human capacity increasingly important.
He added that, “No investment delivers more enduring returns than investment in people.”
He said infrastructure such as roads, buildings, broadband networks and technology platforms could only become productive when people had the knowledge and skills to use them effectively.
According to him, the need for digital capacity has become more urgent as artificial intelligence, automation and other technologies reshape industries, employment and public service delivery.
He said access to technology must therefore be matched with the capacity to use it productively, adding that technology-enabled schools, digital learning facilities, robotics and artificial intelligence laboratories reflected the need for education to evolve alongside technology.
The NCC said the Digital Industrial Park and Learning Centre would provide spaces where young people could acquire relevant skills, entrepreneurs could develop viable businesses and local enterprises could connect to opportunities beyond Enugu and Nigeria.
Maida also stressed the need for collaboration among government, businesses, academia and development partners in expanding Nigeria’s digital economy.
“No single institution can build Nigeria’s digital future alone. The Federal Government, state governments, the private sector, academia and development partners all have complementary roles to play” he concluded.
(The Whistler)
