Beschreibung: The Digital Transformation Center Nigeria (DTC Nigeria) is a project commissioned
by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and
jointly funded by the European Union (EU) (Multi-Donor Action (MDA)), implemented
by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The specific
objective of the project (BMZ financed part) is to improve the capacity of the Nigerian
Economy to utilise digital innovations for growth. The specific objective of the MDA
is to improve the digital innovation ecosystem in Nigeria and to support the digital
transformation of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The political partner
is the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning. The DTC works with
the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), as a lead technical
partner to improve the capacities of the innovation ecosystem for the growth of the
digital economy in Nigeria in the following areas - policy implementation, performance
improvement of organisations and networks, service providers of the digital economy,
scalable digital solutions, and digital skills. The immediate target groups of the
project are start-ups and (innovative) MSMEs working in conventional sectors, women
and youth.). MSMEs account for about 96% of businesses in Nigeria and are responsible
for 75% of national employment. MSMEs contributed 43.31% of Nigeria's GDP, according
to a 2022 survey conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency
of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics. Yet,
Nigeria ranked only 118th out of 132 economies in the 2021 Global Innovation Index.
Most MSMEs are lagging, behind the digital transformation andmany, particularly outside
of the capital, do not have access to the (digital) innovation ecosystem. The project
seeks to support the improvement of the digital innovation ecosystem by (i) creating
a business environment for the technological transformation of non-ICT MSMEs in SDG
and development-related sectors, (ii) improving the innovation support ecosystem,
(iii) fostering partnerships, and developing and implementing digital solutions and
(iv) access to digital and entrepreneurial skills. The project will achieve its objectives
through the following outputs: - Output 1, Policy & Cooperation - Improved innovation-friendly
conditions for the digital economy are promoted by building capacities of key political
institutions to: make evidence-based policies and implement them with the participation
of ecosystem stakeholders at federal and state level, build capacities on new trends
in the digital innovation ecosystem, and enable cooperation and dialogue between national
and international actors from the policy and innovation ecosystem. - Output 2, Digital
Innovation Ecosystem Support - Improved service offerings from Innovation support
organisations (ISO) for the digital transformation of non-tech MSMEs are promoted
by: supporting the establishment of DIHs. In addition, existing ISOs are strengthened
to provide services to start-up and innovative MSMEs to validate existing digital
solutions and to MSMEs in non-ICT sectors to foster their digital transformation.
- Output 3, Digital Innovation & Entrepreneurship - New and validated innovative solutions
are produced and deployed for use by: developing programmes that allow MSMEs within
a structured process to deploy digital solutions. By fostering strategic innovation
partnerships between local research as well as higher education institutions, start-ups,
innovative SMEs, and other actors in the innovation ecosystem, validated solutions
will be further developed and made accessible for use in MSMEs. - Output 4, Digital
& Entrepreneurial Skills for Women & Youth - Digital and entrepreneurial skills are
developed among youth and women by: harmonising existing digital and entrepreneurial
skills programmes of innovation support organisations, public and private training