Telecom: Nigeria’s iconic triumph in South Korea

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has many reasons to walk tall. Last month, his Commission sponsored five ICT-driven small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to the 2017 ITU Telecom World which held in Busan, South Korea from September 25-28. The ITU Telecom World is the flagship […]

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, has many reasons to walk tall. Last month, his Commission sponsored five ICT-driven small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs) to the 2017 ITU Telecom World which held in Busan, South Korea from September 25-28. The ITU Telecom World is the flagship annual forum put together by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the telecom arm of the United Nations.

Nigeria did not miss out on any of these high-level forums where drivers of the digital economy from all over the world traded ideas, knowledge and proffered critical solutions to the myriad challenges in the ever expanding global telecom ecosystem.

There were debates around smart digital transformation including: how digital transformation is impacting the telecommunication sector; new approaches to connectivity; the development of new technologies such as AI, IoT and 5G; the importance of content and capacity; digital literacy and skills for the smart era; digital resilience and cyber-security.

In the midst of this galaxy of tech stars from around the world, Nigeria dazzled with her talented youths. The national flag was flown at high mast by the NCC and the youthful team of SME innovators who represented the nation. The result was self-evident as the nation harvested a handful of awards beating off challengers from America and Asia. 

For instance, Nigeria won the ITU Telecom World Government Award. It is an honour that recognises the place of Nigeria in world telecom.  Certificates of appreciation were also awarded to ITU Telecom World 2017 National Pavilions and Thematic Pavilions, as well as loyal participants and supporters of the annual event over a number of years; the Nigerian Communications Commission was one of the awardees in this category.

Nigeria also impressed in the SME innovation category beating contestants from around the world. Recognition of Excellence Certificates were granted to the best and most innovative individual exhibitor within each National Pavilion at ITU Telecom World 2017, as selected by each pavilion organizer. In this category, Mavis Computel of Nigeria shared the honour with companies from Japan, Brazil and other nationalities.

Nigeria’s Ubenwa was a finalist in the Most Innovative Use of ICTs category which was won by Shanghai Terjin Radio Technology Company, China. Ubenwa shared the finalist slot with KonoLabs of the United States of America. Ubenwa is an app that helps to instantly diagnose if a new born baby has the risk of asphyxia (suffocation) by analyzing the cry of the baby. Ubenwa has already caught the attention of relevant global bodies including IBM as an app which deploys Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the betterment of humanity.

MEDSAF, another Nigerian company was a perfect topping on the cherry. It emerged winner in the greatest social impact category beating SMEs from Indonesia and Azerbaijan. MEDSAF is a tech-driven pharmaceutical company which helps to connect drug manufacturers to hospitals in real time thereby reducing cost, ensuring quality of drugs dispensed by these hospitals and cutting off the possibility of introduction of substandard drugs in the pharmacy value chain. 

“I feel blessed to have this opportunity. Of course winning the award is massive, but ITU Telecom World has been an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything,” said Temitope Awosika, co-founder of the Nigeria-based health startup, MEDSAF.

MEDSAF was honoured as overall winner in the Thematic Awards presented for the most promising innovative solutions with social impact in the areas of eHealth, eEducation and smart emerging technologies. It is a huge prize and a great honour for Nigeria.

ITU World 2017 had a strong focus on SME innovators and Nigeria shone brilliantly. The harvest of awards in different categories indexes the high quality of innovation, regulation and operational processes within the nation’s telecom space. The NCC deserves accolades for having the presence of mind to drive the process that has now brought these Nigerian talents to global spotlight.

The road to the prize was indeed rigorous and has all the imprimatur of diligent scrutiny which the ITU is noted for. All SMEs were subjected to a nerve-racking application and selection process, with an external jury of social entrepreneurship and tech experts assessing each entrant on the basis of business model, scalability, innovation and social impact. Subsequently, those shortlisted for the Global SME Award were invited to take part in a quick-fire pitching session on the event show-floor during the event. The jury had former Minister of Communication, Dr. Omobola Johnson, as member; another attestation to the value the nation has brought to global telecom.

Nigeria has in recent years been a strong voice at the ITU but this year her voice just got stronger. The resilience of the nation’s telecom market, its profitability indicators and the capacity of the market to absorb the diverse range of products and services thrown into it combine to make it an attraction and object of reference at ITU meetings. 

Winning is everything, it is often said. But how you win and the stage you win also matter. Nigeria chose the most appropriate stage to win. ITU World 2017 was heavy on sophistication as it was on light-years-ahead technologies.  From micro-lending to a location-based shopping platform, an artificial intelligence-powered concierge robot, a digital data analytics solution and a voice recognition-based diagnostic system for babies (Ubenwa), this year’s edition of the ITU Telecom World Awards celebrated creativity and innovation in digital solutions meeting real-world social needs. It raises the banner of hope that humanity is working hard and thinking out-of-the-box to bequeath a better, friendlier tomorrow. Nothing rouses you to more patriotism than the fact that Nigerians are among a new generation of geeky youths from around the world making efforts to create a more humane world.

Winners and finalists in several categories were presented with trophies and certificates by ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao in a high-profile ceremony in the presence of ministers, industry leaders, representatives of media, academia and international organizations from across the globe. It was indeed a moment of honour for Nigeria and Nigerians.

ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao put it most succinctly: “Winning an ITU Telecom World Award and having innovative solutions recognized by a global panel of experts at our event will help these talented enterprise owners to grow and scale up their business, taking it to the next stage. Previous award winners have enjoyed great success, coming back to later events as exhibitors and sponsors – I look forward to following the developments of this year’s awards alumni,” he told the audience. 

Professor Danbatta who also made brilliant interventions and appearances at other Leaders Forums at the event said Nigeria’s participation provided the nation an opportunity to benchmark her activities in the sector against those of nationalities and markets from other jurisdictions.

“We come to the ITU Telecom World every year to tell our story, share our experiences and borrow a leaf from global best practices to address our concerns, engage and collaborate with the global community to strengthen the growth and impact of the Nigerian Telecoms Industry.

“We therefore come to enlist the support of other players, governments, regulators and the global community from whom there is always a basket of ideas to take back home to Nigeria.  The implementation of these ideas will ensure a better regulatory environment, even though ours has been seen as a very robust and consultative regulatory agency right from 2001 when the Digital Mobile Licences (DML) were issued”, Danbatta told the audience in Busan.

Professor Danbatta is right. Nigerian telecom regulator, the NCC, is regarded globally as one of the best models from emerging markets. Little wonder regulators from Africa and other emerging markets have made sorties to Nigeria just to understudy the Nigerian regulator.

The evidence regulatory excellence is profound. Over 150 million active subscribers in the voice segment, over 102 percent teledensity and over 92 million internet connections in barely 16 years, the Nigerian telecom market is indeed robust and resilient. It can only get bigger and better.

 

Ugbechie is Executive Secretary, Africa Telecom Development Initiative (ATDI)