By Chima Ojiaku
IBM has revealed its new action plan to empower five million Nigerians over the next two years, to promote and support Small and Medium Enterprises on information technology.
This announcement was made at the second edition of the Nigeria Information Technology Exhibition and Conference (NITEC), one of the biggest convergence of technology advancement brainstormers, held on July 4 at the Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
Speaking at the event, the Country General Manager of the International Business Machines Corporations (IBM), Mr Dipo Faulkner has revealed that IBM already has the framework to kick start the Digital Nation Africa (DNA) programme.
He believes that gone were the days when people survive as illiterates or with poor sets of skills on information and communication technology. He said, “To survive in this era, you must be at the top of the game, changing and trying out new things that suit the ecosystem”
Furthermore, he added that IBM is partnering with Nigerian universities to help students acclimatize with necessary skills for information and communication technology. “This is of double advantage: apart from making the students well grounded on ICT – most often with one on one classroom interactions with clients and business partners -, it also offers students opportunity to be ready for jobs, since they have been equipped with proper know-how on ICT.”