The National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM) says it will develop concrete and implementable action plans to help informal sector players navigate the uncertainties of Coronavirus outbreak.
Prof. Okechukwu Ukwoma, Director-General of NACETEM, said this on Monday in Port Harcourt during a two-day National Technology Management Forum orgamised by NACETEM for Directors of Science and Technology.
The theme of the Forum was titled: “Strengthening and Sustaining the Informal Sector in the Era of COVID-19: What Role for Government?”
Ukwoma said that the forum would discuss the critical role of government during COVID-19 era.
He said COVID-19 had not only disrupted all facets of life, but had also completely changed the dynamics of how people worked.
“It, therefore, becomes important to interrogate how best the various sectors, formal and informal, of the economy should operate in an era which has been described as the new normal.
“It is time to walk the talk by bringing relevant stakeholders together to see how to strengthen and sustain the informal sector, the engine room of the economy the world over,” he said.
Ukwoma said the world was changing with new challenges ranging from climate change to outbreak of new diseases among others.
He said that as a result of this, cutting edge knowledge in science, technology and innovation needed to be constantly deployed, with relevant stakeholders coming together to mitigate the challenges.
The NACETEM D-G said various issues lined up for discussion included: Status and prospects of innovation in Nigeria’s informal sector and Strengthening the informal sector; Wealth and job creation nexus.
Others were Catalytic impact of ease of doing business; and Appraising the socio-economic implications of COVID-19 on the informal sector performance in Nigeria, among others.
“It needs to be noted that NACETEM has been actively involved in coming up with solutions to COVID-19 since its outbreak in Nigeria,” Ukwoma said.
Prof Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele, Vice Chancellor, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, said the forum would broaden the understanding of the ways government, development partners and others could contribute to sustaining the informal sector.
Ndimele was represented by Prof. Priye Amadi, Director of Information and Communication Technology.
He said the theme was carefully selected to appraise the socio-economic implications of COVID-19 in the performance and contributions of the informal sector to the development of Nigeria.
He also said it was meant to strengthen the informal sector, wealth and job creation as well as ensure ease of doing business operations in Nigeria among others.