Transforming Nigeria Through Fair Technology Transfer

Abuja — In the 1970s, Nigeria's technology industry was largely dominated by foreign companies. To counter this trend, the government established the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) in 1979.

 

It aimed to regulate the inflow of foreign technology into Nigeria, through putting in place new policies which promote the establishment and growth of local software and innovation firms.

Yet as recently as 2006, a NOTAP study found a gap between Nigeria's research sector and industries. "We realised that Nigerians were not converting research outputs into intellectual property, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and knowledge at the highest level," says Umar Bindir, NOTAP's director-general.

"The country's know-how - the culture of creating intellectual property and protecting it as intellectual property rights as well as transferring it into industries - was very weak."

For this reason, NOTAP has published a manual on the basic requirements and procedures for technology transfer agreements and projects to guide those involved in transferring and licensing through negotiation, registration and monitoring and in aligning those projects with the needs of the country, Bindir says. Until then, Nigerians were largely dependent on foreign expertise in high-tech fields such as computer software.

"The pattern was that firms would acquire software from abroad and foreigners would come and implement it," says Bindir. "Whenever there was a problem with viruses, or an upgrade was required, foreigners would come and solve the problem. Everything was one-way traffic." These new guidelines have allowed for the "fair" transfer of knowledge and technology coming to Nigeria.

Building local knowledge

"We ensure that the charges [to Nigeria] for technology transfer agreements are fair," Bindir explains. "Based on these agreements, NOTAP now facilitates the movement of many industries into Nigeria."

NOTAP has successfully created many more opportunities for Nigerian companies and people to build their capacity in technology know-how through technology transfer agreements.

For example, NOTAP's guidelines stipulate that a minimum of 40 per cent of annual technical maintenance paid to a foreign software-technology vendor should go to a local partner, so it can develop skills for implementing, customising, integrating and supporting foreign technology. This aims to ensure that local vendors are involved in maintaining the software in the country and hence reduce the cost of involving expatriates in local processes and enhance the capacity of nationals.

Bindir stresses that many Nigerian software companies are now involved in executing software projects, coding software and providing technical services that only foreign companies used to provide.

For example, the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), a leading Nigerian software company, has learned so much that it has matured into a small multinational company. With operations in 18 of the 36 Nigerian states, and regional offices in West, East and Central Africa (Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon).

CWG's CEO, Austin Okere, says that NOTAP's intervention in the domestication of software knowledge was largely responsible for the growth of his firm. "NOTAP has been a strong catalyst in the growth of local content in software in Nigeria, including the phenomenal growth of CWG," he says.

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By Emeka Johnkingsley