The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on venture capitalists, telecommunications companies and state governments to invest in locally developed technology, as Nigeria seeks to reduce its dependence on imported software and turn homegrown innovations into viable businesses.
The call was made on Thursday at the closing ceremony of the fourth NCC Hackathon Live Show in Abuja, where young innovators presented technology solutions designed to address digital access barriers facing Nigerians, particularly persons with disabilities and other underserved groups. PUNCH reported the development on Saturday.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida, represented at the event by Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said Nigeria needed to move beyond relying heavily on foreign software and develop technologies that respond to local needs.
He said the solutions emerging from the hackathon, including artificial intelligence-powered speech-to-text tools, voice-enabled platforms, accessible USSD services and inclusive mobile applications, could form part of a broader push towards technological self-reliance.
The commission is now seeking private-sector participation to take the innovations beyond the prototype stage. Its appeal to venture capitalists, telecom operators and state governments is significant because many technology ideas developed through competitions and accelerator programmes struggle to progress from demonstration projects into products with paying customers.
The hackathon brought together 20 groups working on solutions covering areas such as artificial intelligence, assistive technology, sign-language recognition, accessible digital services and inclusive employment platforms. Voice of Nigeria reported that the programme was designed to strengthen indigenous innovation while addressing barriers that prevent some Nigerians from participating fully in the digital economy.
The NCC’s focus also goes beyond disability-related technology. The commission has identified barriers involving language, literacy, income, geography and access to appropriate devices as issues that can limit participation in Nigeria’s growing digital economy. Proposed solutions included voice-based services, image-to-voice navigation, accessible customer-care systems and USSD tools for people who do not use smartphones.
For Nigeria’s technology ecosystem, the bigger challenge is what happens after the prizes are awarded. A successful hackathon can demonstrate that local developers are capable of solving problems, but turning those solutions into sustainable businesses requires funding, customers, infrastructure, regulatory support and access to markets.
That is where the NCC’s call for investment becomes particularly relevant. Rather than treating hackathons simply as competitions for young developers, the commission is positioning them as a pipeline for indigenous software development and technology-driven entrepreneurship. The NCC has said the initiative is intended to encourage homegrown entrepreneurship, strengthen local intellectual property and create stronger public-private partnerships.
For investors and Nigerian businesses, the opportunity may therefore be less about the individual hackathon winners and more about whether the country can build a reliable system for identifying promising local technology, funding it, deploying it and scaling it.
Nigeria’s push for digital self-reliance will ultimately be measured not by how many technology ideas are produced at innovation events, but by how many of those ideas become products that businesses, government agencies and consumers are willing to pay for.
