By Adoga Michael Oyi
Entrepreneurs , investors, students , and public sector officials are meeting in Lagos and Abuja on the 20 th and 22 nd of March 2018 for Nigeria ’ s first public policy hackathon to brainstorm ways in which the regulatory environment for innovation and entrepreneurship could be improved across Nigeria .
Nigeria , Africa’ s most populous nation and its largest economy , is home to a thriving and fast - growing technology industry and startup scene .
The aim of the Policy Hackathon is to boost the entrepreneurial environment even further by engaging innovators to support Government in developing innovative public policies to accelerate domestic innovation , entrepreneurship and youth employment .
Participants will identify opportunities to improve the regulatory environment and relevant Government interventions to create an enabling environment for business growth and technology development . The findings collected from the workshops in Lagos and Abuja will be drafted into a white paper and shared with key officials and politicians.
The Policy Hackathon is being made possible with support from “ Make - IT in Africa” , in conjunction with i4 Policy , Civic Innovation Lab and Impact Hub Lagos .
i4 Policy works with innovation communities and governments across Africa. In 2017 , i4 Policy conducted policy hackathons in Rwanda with Impact Hub Kigali for the Ministry of Trade and Industry . The Government of Rwanda incorporated the policy solutions developed by the private sector and youth directly into its next seven-year national strategy for private sector development and youth employment .
The current Nigerian political leadership has shown an increased interest to engage with entrepreneurs and an openness to incorporating their innovative ideas in Government . Dr Amina Sambo, the National Coordinator of the Office of ICT , Innovation and Entrepreneurship ( OIIE ) , under the National Information Technology Development Agency ( NITDA ) has conducted several stakeholder consultations since assuming leadership of the agency . Dr Sambo will participate directly in the Abuja Policy Hackathon .
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