The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) presently boasts of 1, 560 demand-specific intervention centers spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country, ITPulse understands.
These demand-specific intervention centers, which started with just ten (10) Rural Information Technology Resource Centre (RITC) across the country’s six Geo-Political zones in 2007, have experienced consistent increase owing largely to NITDA’s focus on developing the Information Technology Sector.
The number increased to 17 in 2008, 58 in 2009 and 119 in 2010. Today, in an attempt to bridge the digital divide, provide an enabling environment and strengthening the tech ecosystem and increased awareness of the Agency’s intervention, other demand-specific interventions were developed.
These include Community Access Venues (CACs), Knowledge Access Venues (KAVs), Digital Capacity Building Centres (DCBCs), Digital Job Creation Centres (DJCCs), Digital Divide Bridging Centres (DDBCs), Digital Economy Centres (DECs), IT Infrastructure for Higher Institutions, Wide Area Network for Higher Institutions, Virtual Library, IT Innovation and Incubation Parks, IT Community Training Centres, IT Innovation Hubs, and IT Skills Acquisition and Computer-Based Testing Centres.
Meaning, from inception to date, NITDA has deployed over one thousand, five hundred and sixty (1,560) Centres across the country, with a minimum of two Centres in each of the 774 Local Government Areas of the country.
Meanwhile, in the areas of Capacity Building, the agency started the Train-the-Trainer programme for Lecturers in Tertiary Institutions, which has grown into having special programmes for Women, People Living with Disabilities, Military and Paramilitary, Public Officers, students, NYSC, Artisans, Primary School Children and now having various programmes delivered online through the NITDA Academy for Research and Training.
So far, the Agency has impacted over 2.5 Million Nigerians directly and/or indirectly in multiple areas of IT through its interventions and training.