Benue, Japanese gov’t partner to develop digital economy

From Uche Nnorom, Makurdi

Benue State Government and the Japanese government have entered into partnership to develop the digital technological ecosystem of the State.

The terms of partnership according to Mr Jeff Udende, Program Team Lead for Benue Test Kits is to develop and build the technical skills of startups from scratch as well as source funds for them to grow into a tech company.

Jeff said the Japanese government through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA is carrying out this obligation, noting that the project is expected to create jobs for the youths and also attract revenue to the State.

He said: “This is an initiative of the Benue Governors when the State government trained 10000 youths in ICT. There were two (2) phases, some were trained for direct job and others to be employers of labor.

“Those people came together in different technical skills. So, the benefit of partnership with Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA is to build these startup from the scratch, everything that concern  building the final startup to be selected on the demo day 100 percent will come from JICA.

“That is from registration of their company to sourcing funds for them to grow will be powered by JICA. The Benue State Govt will hand over the winners to JICA to develop them.

“They will be showcasing what they have built so far and the winner will be fully funded for them to become a tech company. The benefit is that these companies will bring revenue to Benue. Most of them are doing it in local content and it is solving problems already.

“It is a fulfillment of the promise of the Governor to create jobs in the digital economy to showcase what Benue can do in this sector.”

Also speaking Não Fawa Fuwa JICA  Expert on Strategy and startup covering Nigeria and entire Africa said JICA has been working and offering supporting in Nigeria since 2020.

Fuwa who said that most people think Lagos and Abuja are centers of innovation, observed that Benue can be a center of innovation.

“I saw so many innovative ideas and I think Benue can be an innovation hub in this areas. That is my expectation and JICA is always supporting Benue in this area.

“We are committed to their startup for the future. We will provide technical support to the 7 winners”, he stated.

During the event, several tech/ICT groups showcased their expertise in the area of digital technology particularly in creating programs and site meant to solve societal and social problems. At the end, 7 groups emerged winners.