Infrastructure stalls Nigeria’s SmartCity ambition

Poor infrastructure is stalling Nigeria’s technology-focused innovation hub project called SmartCity, while also hindering the growth of major cities in the country, experts have said.

According to them, Nigeria needs to spend money on infrastructure to join the fast-paced world, which is now a global village, adding that the SmartCity project, conceived in 2011 for the development of the country, starting with Lagos and Abuja, has not been taken seriously.

A smart city is an urban development vision to integrate multiple information and communication technology (ICT) solutions in a secure fashion to manage the city’s assets.

According to the Nigerian Communications Communication (NCC), Africa’s biggest economy currently does not have the necessary technology and infrastructure required to achieve smart cities.

Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, NCC, said, “Nigeria currently does not have the necessary technology required to achieve smart cities.

“The smart city is the vision for the communications ministry. The translation of this vision into reality will require the deployment of necessary technology maybe even on a pilot scheme so that Nigerians will be able to see the benefit of doing things in a technologically advanced way.”

Key stakeholders say the government does not have the necessary infrastructure and does little to support players that are spending to revive the tech sector.

Florence Seriki, CEO/managing director, Omatek Ventures, told BusinessDay that Nigerian government was not encouraging local players in the technology industry to grow.

“We have local companies like mine that have been assembling IT products here in Nigeria for a long time now and nothing says we cannot produce them here if we are given the opportunity to, but there is no adequate investment in the sector and policies made are not favourable,” Seriki said.

“We would love to manufacture our own technology because importing these parts are even too expensive, which makes the final product more expensive than it should be after assembling, but the government needs to help us by investing and including stakeholders during policy formulation,” she said.

Apart from America’s Silicon Valley, home to many of the world’s largest technology corporations and tech start-up companies, Shenzhen has become the epicentre of China’s manufacturing-driven miracle and home to some of China’s largest technology companies.  Its growth is attributed to a focus on higher value added and home grown technology.

Eric Pan, founder of Seeed Technology, said, “Shenzhen is becoming the new frontier for technology because it has the infrastructure for whoever wants to turn their ideas into products.”

Shenzhen, which is now home to some of China’s biggest technology companies, led by a new wave of young Chinese entrepreneurs hoping to build global brand recognition, has expanded its economy at an 8.9 percent pace last year, even while nationwide growth slowed to a 25 year low of 6.9 percent.

According to research, Shenzhen’s per capita GDP has risen to 158,000 Yuan ($24,334), on a par with Portugal.

Analysts suggest this could be because the city’s government earmarked 4.4 billion Yuan ($676m) to hire foreign experts such as scientists and academics to facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship.

Chijioke Anthony Eke, chairman, Sidmach Technology, told BusinessDay in an interview that, “Nigeria needs to invest in infrastructure to manufacture local technology.

“Most people have smart phones and smart devices but none is made in Nigeria. How many are even made in Africa. So the challenge before us is to find a way, over the next few years while we are still active, to bring these things down here, not just to assemble because we can see the effect of assembling.

“Those who assembled IT systems like servers, desktops, laptops are huffing and puffing because the market is not there. Someone needs to be in control. We must go beyond that with the active cooperation of government, and let them know that it is time to deliberately develop the indigenous IT market.”

Industry experts say Lagos has the potential to create global technology giants such as Huawei, ZTE and Internet company, Tencent all based in Shenzhen which has become the tech hub of China.