The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami has said that Disability should not be an impediment to digital and economic inclusion/success.
He said this at the closing ceremony of IT & Entrepreneurship Training for Persons Living With Disabilities held in Enugu, Enugu State on Friday, 5th March 2021
Pantami reiterated that Promoting Digital Entrepreneurship among PLWDs constitutes an important part of the Ministry’s National Digital Economy Policy for a Digital Nigeria which treats entrepreneurship as a key component of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth that strives to leave no one behind.
“With this training programme, the participants would have acquired hands-on skills that can help you to operate Small Scale IT business such as Business Centre Services, Document Editing Services, Internet Café, and Computer Training Services to mention but a few. I therefore urge you to extend the knowledge acquired from this training to others within and beyond your clusters so as to facilitate digital inclusion and bridge the digital divide amongst PLWDs. I am convinced that this empowerment programme will help to bridge the digital divide and foster the sustainable inclusion of persons living with disabilities, Pantami said.
He further said that exposure to training on these technologies can help PLWDs in business creation thereby improving their ability to participate in societal functions. This will expectedly improve their self-esteem, confidence, and also increases the likelihood of being economically buoyant.
He urged the National Information Technology Development Agency to extend this training opportunity to other parts of the country so that his Ministry can intensify the efforts of bridging the Digital Divide among PLWDs in the country.
The IT & Entrepreneurship Training for People Living with Disabilities in the South-East, Enugu State was declared opened by the Enugu State Governor on the 1st of May, 2021 at Enugu State Technology Hub and Youth Innovation Centre.
