With the vision to have a vibrant ICT sector in Kaduna, the state government in conjunction with Zenith bank has commissioned its first state-owned ICT hub.
The hub was declared open by Governor Nasir El-Rufai on the 5th of April, 2017 at the recently concluded KadInvest 2.0 summit. The summit is centred on making Kaduna 'the investment destination of choice' and it featured a number of dignitaries such as the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa'ad Abubakar, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, Donald Duke, Twitter personality, J.J. Omojuwa and many others. There were discussions on technological advancement, startups, entertainment, entrepreneurship and the girl-child education in the state.
The need for more ICT hubs in Nigeria is fundamental because it will aid growth in information technology, productivity, creativity and also provide employment in the country. Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) in 2016, an ICT expert Mrs Mary Uduma, who is the former President of Nigeria Internet Registration Association of Nigeria (NIRA), called on the government to build more ICT hubs in the country. While the Kaduna government has yielded to this call, a lot more needs to be done to advance technology penetration in the Northern region and the country as a whole.
