By Isaac Anumihe
The European Union at the weekend, disclosed its intention to give Nigeria 44 billion euros grant to support digital development plan.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on the need for Nigeria to explore areas of digital economic collaboration, the Vice President of the European Commission in charge of Digital Single Market, Mr. Andrus Ansip, said that the fund would help Nigeria create a free and secure digital single market in which people can shop online across borders adding that businesses can sell products across the EU countries wherever they are in the region.
Apart from seeking to expand the EU’s digital economy, it will also offer consumers better services at better prices and help businesses grow.
The strategy, according to him, will equally promote digital and e-government approaches in national and EU administrations by including the fight against cybercrime. The fund, he said, will help create relationship with African entrepreneurs. He said that Nigeria has a lot of start-ups and the fund will help grow their businesses and ease the system of payment. To this effect, the government will be able to save a lot of money from the strategy.
Ansip who was the former Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs and Communication of Estonia, noted that Africa is a priority area for the EU and his mission to Nigeria was to speak to the government and the business community to buy into the project.
The former Prime Minister who did not disclose the interest rate on the loan, said that the important thing is to create the right environment first before the fund would be released.
“The EU’s single market offers European citizens and businesses significant freedoms and rights- to travel, trade or operate across the EU. These freedoms in turn mean innovations have the widest growth and spread, and citizens have the widest choices and opportunities.
“However, an increasing number of products and services are going digital or online—whether you are watching films or bidding for government contracts, shopping or studying, chances are you are using online tools to do so” he said.
In a statement, the European Union stated that the creation of the digital single market became necessary because Europeans face barriers when using online tools and services. These barriers range from non-transparent and disproportionately high delivery charges, to deliberate ‘geo-blocking’ of services to restrict them to one country or region, to a lack of internet access or digital skills and a patchwork of different rules across the EU. Ansip noted that after the initial campaign for the buy-in, the fund can be accessed in 2018.
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