…Launches the Foundation’s Digilink Programme
By Nosakhare Agbonigiarhuoyi
The Edo State Government, on Monday, February 6, 2023, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Digital Technology and launched the Foundation’s Digilink Programme, a digital lab programme aimed at supporting startups and encouraging digital innovators, at the State’s Government house, Benin City.
The Digilink Programme aims to develop a roadmap and organizationalize Nigeria’s “digital lab” model to strengthen public service capacity for digital reforms and build digital solutions for key developmental outcomes.
The Governor, who commended the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the support the State has received from it so far, said that technology strikes at the core of his administration’s reforms, whether in terms of improving processes, creating opportunities for collective growth, creating wealth or building solid institutions.
According to Mr Obaseki, the use of technological tools and processes for work and in everyday life has become more imperative, particularly since the wake of the Covid 19 pandemic.
“Technology is the life wire of the new Edo state.
“For us in Edo, we have set a target to become the best place to work and live in Africa by the year 2050, and as such, we are pioneering the adoption of new tools and processes that gets us faster to this New World Order.” he declared.
Referring to the project as a landmark project that captures the essence of the State’s digital transformation pathway, Mr Obaseki said that his administration has put in place a comprehensive strategic technology roadmap that outlines specific targets and a clear pathway to achieve its vision.
“To a large extent, our roadmap prioritizes infrastructural development, education and innovation”, he said.
Furthermore, the governor attributed the progress made by the State in the last 6 years in terms of digitization and technology to partnerships between it and the private sector/multilateral institutions.
In a statement, he said: “We are very intentional in making Edo a destination of choice for digital solutions.
“This digital lab programme will form the critical plan of our programmes to enhance our digital transformation in Edo state, and also sustain all our efforts to date in transforming Edo into being digital.”
The Director, Chief of Staff, Global Growth and Opportunity, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Carol Welch, who appreciated the governor for his reception and hospitality, said that the Foundation believes in the power of innovation to lead transformative impact.
She remarked: “Today, we begin a partnership with the Edo state government and our informative partners and grantees, ACIOE and Public Digital, to demonstrate what enhanced digital capability in the public sector can accomplish.
“Edo has emerged as a leading candidate to pilot this idea of a multi-stakeholder hub; what we call “Digilink”, to build public sector capability for digital reform; a capability that can be deployed across a diverse range of uses – education, health, agriculture, government services, to name several.”
