The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has urged Corp members and Interns serving in the agency to transform their creative ideas into viable technology startups, assuring them of the agency’s support in turning their innovations into real products and services.
Inuwa made the call at the grand finale of the NITDA Innovation Challenge 1.0, held at the agency’s headquarters in Abuja. The event featured presentations by Corp members and Interns who showcased technology-driven projects developed under NITDA’s internal innovation programme aimed at solving real-life problems and improving service delivery.
Sharing his personal journey, the DG recounted how his career in technology began during his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year over two decades ago, adding “I had an opportunity to build a website for the place I served, and that opened doors for me. Before I finished my service, a company offered me a contract worth ₦1.5 million to develop another website. Since then, I have remained committed to creating value through technology.”
He revealed that NITDA currently hosts over 550 Corp members, many of whom face employment challenges after their service year. To address this, he said the agency is providing platforms that enable them to acquire digital skills, refine their ideas, and build startups before completing their service year.
The DG commended the participants for their innovative ideas ranging from smart performance tracking systems to digital branding tools, knowledge management platforms, job placement systems, and certificate verification solutions.
In his remarks, Dr. Ayodeji Eniola, Director in the DG’s Office, described the Innovation Challenge as more than a competition, calling it a “movement” that will redefine innovation within NITDA and across the public sector.
He explained that the initiative was inspired by the DG’s vision to institutionalise innovation through a structured approach, which led to the creation of the NITDA Innovation Framework (NIF) — a blueprint for harnessing creativity and improving public sector efficiency.
Highlights of the event included the presentation of cash awards to the top six winning teams as follows: Team X (COPA) – 1st Place; Team Sentinel (Smart ID) – 2nd Place; Smart Track Innovators – 3rd Place; Team Trivergent – 4th Place; Team TechLogs (SafeCheck) – 5th Place; Team Big Tech (Digital Brainbox) and Team SRAPture – tied for 6th Place.
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