The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IT Sky Solutions, Almustapha Liman, has said Nigeria needs stronger digital identity and verification systems to build trust and accountability in business transactions.
Liman spoke in Abuja yesterday at the launch of Sky ID, a Nigerian telecommunications and business identity platform, which the company said was designed to help businesses manage customer communications while providing identity and business verification features.
The launch was attended by representatives of the Senate and the National Information Technology Development Agency, who backed greater deployment of digital solutions to formalise Nigeria’s informal sector and create employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
Liman said businesses and individuals needed reliable systems through which their identities could be established and verified, particularly as digital communication and transactions became increasingly central to commercial activities.
According to him, the challenge confronting Nigeria was not necessarily the character of its citizens but the absence of systems capable of promoting accountability and discouraging abuse.
‘In any society in the world, you will find the good, the bad and the ugly. But if a system is put in place that can check the activities of individuals, it can discourage people from doing what is not right,’ he said.
Liman said the identity and verification features of Sky ID could help improve confidence between businesses and their customers while addressing some of the trust and security challenges associated with commercial transactions.
He added that the private sector had a responsibility to contribute to the development of systems that promote trust, noting that technology should go beyond facilitating communication to strengthening relationships between businesses and their customers.
The IT Sky Solutions chief linked the initiative to employment generation, saying the company had created jobs through its operations and network of channel partners.
He disclosed that about 1,000 people had been employed through the company’s operations in India, while some channel partners with between 400 and 500 workers could potentially translate into several thousand additional jobs.
Liman said the company’s long-term ambition was to extend the trust and verification model beyond Nigeria by developing what he described as a ‘social trust network across Africa.’
‘We are building a social trust network across Africa, whereby someone from another nation should be able to communicate or transact with another party anywhere globally,’ he said.
Speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, said the National Assembly would continue to support legislation aimed at creating an enabling environment for technology-driven businesses and employment.
Tambuwal said lawmakers had a responsibility to enact laws that would support initiatives capable of improving businesses and creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
‘First and foremost, our job is primarily to make laws for the good governance and order of the country. We shall continue to make such laws that will enable these types of initiatives and several others that have the capabilities and ability to support Nigerians in their businesses and create jobs for our young people,’ he said.
Also speaking, an Assistant Director in the Digital Development Services Department of NITDA, Dr Ahmed Tambuwal, said digital innovation could play a significant role in transforming Nigeria’s informal sector, where a large proportion of Nigerians operate.
He said digital tools could help small businesses formalise their operations, manage their businesses more efficiently and expand their customer base, giving them greater capacity to pursue larger business opportunities.
‘I think this particular initiative is very important for the informal sector. As you are well aware, the informal sector is where the largest population of Nigerians operate.
‘With this innovation, a lot of small businesses are going to be formalised. They will be able to manage their businesses better, expand their customer base and, while remaining small businesses, gain the capacity to manage bigger business opportunities,’ he said.
Tambuwal said the initiative could contribute significantly to job creation and economic growth.
He added that NITDA was supporting stakeholders in the digital economy through policies, regulations and frameworks designed to simplify participation in the sector by businesses and individuals.
‘We have a number of policies and regulations aimed at simplifying how businesses and individuals can participate in the digital economy. Through our policies, regulations and frameworks, we are able to support this type of business. We actively support good initiatives such as this through partnerships, funding and many other methods,’ he said.