GITEX is the premier technology event in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The event annually hosts over 184,000 trade visitors and delegates from more than 140 countries
Chinenye Anuforo
To ensure the country’s effective participation at this year’s Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) and to also expose its startups, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has inaugurated the GITEX 2018 local organising committee (LOC).
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In a statement signed by Hadiza Umar, head, corporate affairs and external relations, NITDA, the agency stated that the event would hold at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from October 14 to 18, 2018.
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The GITEX is the premier technology event in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The event annually hosts over 184,000 trade visitors and delegates from more than 140 countries, and over 4,000 world class exhibitors from about 97 countries.
GITEX Technology Week is a five-day event, to become one of the biggest technology gathering for governments and top decision makers.
“We remain firm and committed to promoting technology deployment and building our local IT industry to world standard through participation in global events that further exposes the players to trends in the industry,” said director-general/CEO, NITDA, Isa Pantami, while inaugurating the GITEX LOC as well as the LOC for eNigeria.
Pantami urged the GITEX LOC to explore rather than exploit opportunities at improving Nigeria’s participation at such global events. He said “to explore requires that we keep thinking of how better a thing can be no matter the level of success already achieved. To exploit is to be contented with our achievement and not to desire to improve or to be dynamic to keep raising the bar. I urge you all to explore new ideas and new ways at which we can improve our continuous participation at GITEX, an international event and eNigeria, our own national event that is already having an international clout.”
The GITEX LOC, which draws members from both public and private sectors has since gone to work with sub-committees for Startups, Pavilion Management, Media and Sector Profiling, and the GITEX LOC Secretariat. Members were enlisted from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Bank of Industry, NIGCOMSAT Limited and Nigerian Export Promotion Council. Others are from the Nigeria Computer Society and Pinnacle International Consulting LLC, the DWTC Sole Representative for GITEX in Nigeria and West Africa.
“We plan to engage the international community and leverage on continuous exposure of our country’s investment potential in the IT sector. We need every member of the LOC to come up with strategic ideas on how the country can best leverage on this international exposure in line with how the director general has tasked us all,” said the GITEX LOC chairman, Dr. Agu Collins Agu, who is also the director of corporate planning and strategy at NITDA.