To encourage the nation’s advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), the federal government plans to announce a $1.5 million initiative.
This statement was made by Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, who revealed the AI Fund concept in an Arise TV interview. The new AI support will be formally introduced in Abuja on October 7th, supported by the global foundation Luminate.
This comes after the Ministry and Google recently established an N100 million AI fund. The Minister stated that although the previous fund was questioned for being insufficient, the new investment reaffirms the government’s commitment to combining resources to support the development of AI in Nigeria. Speaking to concerns on the alleged lack of sufficient funding from the previous AI fund, Dr. Tijani clarified that a lot of Nigerians were unaware of the initiative’s true extent, BrandSpur technology and information news report.
He stressed that the growth of the AI industry is not dependent just on domestic finance, saying that the government is concentrating on obtaining resources from a variety of sources. The Minister disclosed that the National Artificial Intelligence Trust is being established by the government in addition to Luminate’s contribution. This organisation, which was created in association with the AI Collaborative, will guarantee that AI advancements are morally and environmentally sound, especially as the country strives to create AI applications in regional tongues.
He also spoke about the government’s long-term plans for the nation’s technological infrastructure, pointing out that even though these plans may not pay off right away, ongoing initiatives like the installation of 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable will be essential to the nation’s progress in the future.
The entire installation is anticipated to be finished within the next three years, but the Minister acknowledged that obtaining the $2 billion needed for this project could take up to 18 months. He did, however, emphasise the significance of these basic initiatives, stating that their eventual effects will address issues facing the country, such as poverty.
Continuing, he also emphasised the government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) project, which is already giving Nigerians employment prospects, especially in the technology industry. These significant initiatives are in addition to each other.
Dr. Tijani also brought up the 774 Project, which links secretariats across the country to improve local government service delivery. He had presented the AI Collective, a collaborative platform designed to propel the nation’s AI ecosystem, at a National AI workshop earlier this year.
Luminate has pledged $1.5 million over three years to help this effort, funding important organisations including the Lagos Business School, Data Science Nigeria, and the Centre for Journalism, Innovation, and Development. These organisations will work together on innovation, research, and governance in the field of artificial intelligence.
However, the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR), home to the AI Collective, gives Nigeria’s academic, civic society, and technology groups a collaborative space to work together to make AI a key driver of the country’s economic development.
