E-Business
Raft of Commitments on Harnessing Data Revolution, Data Crisis
International governments, businesses and civil society today pledged to take action to tackle the data crisis that threatens to hamper the fight against extreme poverty.
Wide-ranging commitments – including funding pledges, the opening up of valuable data sets, technological innovation and analytic support – were made in Addis Ababa, as the first step in a major drive to harness the data revolution to support inclusive growth and sustainable development.
World leaders are set to agree new Sustainable Development Goals in September, but these must be backed with a rapid escalation of robust, high quality data to track resources to results.
To drive that forward, more than 20 international organisations, including the governments of Belgium, Kenya, Mexico, Senegal and the United States, the World Bank Group, UNSDSN, CIVICUS and Mastercard have also committed to be Champions for the formation of a Global Partnership on Sustainable Data, to be launched in September 2015.
Michael Elliott, CEO of The ONE Campaign said, “We live in a world where millions of people matter so little that they are uncounted. Their births are not recorded; they can’t access basic healthcare, enough food or an education. This year we expect ambitious new global goals to end extreme poverty, but if we don’t deal with the crisis of inadequate data for monitoring and achieving the goals, we can’t have full accountability or a clear picture of progress. Fixing it needs political support, funding and practical action.”
The commitments announced it will catalyse tangible progress in filling known data gaps so that the lives of the poorest and most excluded can be improved.
Amadou Ba, the Senegal Minister of Finance said, “The commitments made in Addis Ababa today are a great step towards making the data revolution a reality. We have seen new pledges that will drive progress in health, food production and help fight corruption. Harnessing data can drive inclusive growth, and allow governments, citizens and civil society to track resources to results. The Government of Senegal is honoured to champion the formation of the Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data.”
The initial group of champions of a Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data made specific commitment to invest in, share and use data for decision-making.
They drew particular attention to the need to mobilize new resources, noting that at least $1 billion will be required each year to successfully monitor the new sustainable development agenda.
They also joined a call to action to form a partnership that will accelerate efforts to increase the availability of high quality data to help improve the lives of those citizens who are currently left behind.
A Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data will, promote new data principles and norms and strengthen those that already exist; incentivize data generation to fill key data gaps that make a difference to people’s lives, in particular the poor and excluded; expand open data access to increase the timeliness, interoperability, use and value of data that already exist; and support capacity building and peer learning of users and producers with a view to measure, monitor, evaluate progress and deliver the Sustainable development Goals.
The Champions aim to build a growing network that will politically launch a Global Partnership on Sustainable Development Data during the Sustainable Development Summit and United Nations General Assembly in September.
As a first step, more than 20 organisations announced commitments at the event, including:
The ONE campaign will launch the ‘Follow the Money’ portal, a one-stop-shop for the best examples of citizens using data to track corruption, advocate for better budget allocations, and make sure public money gets to where it is most needed.
The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will invest $22m in Country Data Collaboratives. The Collaboratives will strengthen country-led health data systems and decision-making.
The Mexican Government is committed to the development and launch of an international Open Data Charter; and to provide personalized, timely and focalized information to pregnant beneficiaries of Prospera, the world’s second largest conditional cash transfer program, via SMS to help empower women’s health through scalable data-driven platforms.
The Sustainable Development Solutions Network will launch a thematic group on data and information systems for development to identify new innovative approaches to data collection for the SDGs, and to make this input useful for policy makers.
CIVICUS will work to build the capacity of civil society, particularly in the Global South, to produce and use data for the SDGs through its DataShift initiative.
MasterCard, in partnership with Datakind, will organize data scientists to partner with public sector leaders to develop responsible protocols around data collection and usage; and provide the technical horsepower to analyse, interpret and translate data into concrete development solutions.
The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation will invest $20 million in improving data on coverage of nutrition interventions and other key indicators by 2020 in at least four countries.
More Champions are expected to join in the lead up to the UN General Assembly in September.
Uche Chigbo, coordinating director of Operations, National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), has said the newly enacted NIMC Act strengthens data protection and privacy, expands identity coverage to include everyone in Nigeria and Nigerians in the diaspora, and provides the legal framework for a secure and trusted digital identity ecosystem.
She said the new law replaces the 2007 NIMC Act, which had become outdated due to rapid technological advancements, evolving cybersecurity threats, the growth of the digital economy, and the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
According to her, the updated legislation better positions the Commission to deliver Nigeria’s digital identity agenda and improve access to government and private sector services.
“The Act itself has taken in a whole lot of things to make sure that NIMC is well-positioned to be able to deliver on the identity agenda and program of Nigeria. The area of universal coverage was expanded within the Act so that NIMC can enroll everybody that is within the soil of Nigeria—male, female, children, whether they are IDPs or orphans or whatever it is, and even Nigerians in diaspora.
“There is quite a lot within the Act that over the few days and weeks, even with my Director-General’s courtesy visit, we are trying to sensitize and educate the general public, and also bring awareness to this new Act so that people will know what are the rights that exist within it, what are the obligations, what are the stronger enforcement and penalties that has also been expanded within the Act, and then what are also the regulatory autonomy that has been given to NIMC to make sure that they drive the digital identity ecosystem in Nigeria,” she explained.
“There’s a lot of provisions and changes with the new Act. Um, the NIMC 2007 Act has been operating for close to 19 years now. So, we can see that, um, you can actually say it’s almost obsolete. And then with a lot of technological advancements in the world now, with the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, and then with also a lot of evolving security challenges, cybersecurity challenges, as well as the ever-growing digital economy, it became very necessary that a comprehensive review of the NIMC Act should be done.
So, that 2007 Act has been repealed and a new NIMC 2026 Act is in place,” she explained.
Chigbo clarified that the National Identification Number (NIN) is Nigeria’s unique identifier and the only valid means of identification for accessing government services.
She added that it enables secure identity verification and improves access to services.
“NIN has been designated as the unique identifier in Nigeria and then by the government of Nigeria establishing it as the only valid means of identification for assessing government services. So, NIN, it’s positioned to be a valuable tool for empowering citizens and legal residents to facilitate access to service delivery in Nigeria. And it’s also a tool for people to be able to prove their identity as they go about their daily businesses,” she said.
Speaking on identity harmonisation across government agencies, Chigbo said NIMC is integrating identity databases to enable Nigerians to access services seamlessly using the National Identification Number (NIN), while other agencies continue to issue functional identities for specific purposes.
“There’s a distinction between a foundational identity and a functional identity. NIMC provides the foundational identity, which answers the question, ‘Who are you?’ Are you a Nigerian or a legal resident? Who are you? That’s what NIMC is providing. All these other agencies that you have mentioned, they provide functional ID, which is an ID that relies on the foundational ID, where they have established who you are and then they are now trying to answer the question, ‘Are you now eligible to have these services? Are you now eligible to benefit from this transaction or scheme?’ So, those are two different distinctions.”
However, Chigbo said NIMC’s mandate is to harmonise and integrate identity systems across government, with the amended Act designating the Commission as the sole repository for biometric data.
“However, NIMC mandate is to make sure that we harmonize and integrate with all these agencies so that you’re one and the same person in any of the databases or registries that you have. The Act that has been expanded and amended also positions NIMC as the only repository for biometric data capture so that we can have effective identity management and coordination in Nigeria.
“So, that harmonization is already happening, the integration is already happening,” she stated.
She also disclosed that NIMC has introduced an online modification portal that allows Nigerians to begin the process of correcting or updating their personal information from the comfort of their homes or offices.
“But also, NIMC we have a modification portal that enables you to sit in the comfort of your home or office to be able to start the process of correction or updates of your data. We already have a self-service modification portal that allows you to make corrections,” she disclosed.
On the cost of obtaining a NIN, Chigbo clarified that enrolment and issuance of the National Identification Number are free.
She, however, noted that some other identity-related services attract approved fees, which are published on the NIMC website and paid electronically through the government Remita platform.
“Enrollment for the issuance of the National Identification Number, NIN, is free. There are other services, identity services that NIMC provide. Those ones have their charges, and those fees and charges are publicized on the NIMC website so that people can see what those charges are. And NIMC does not collect cash. Our transactions and the charges are paid electronically through the government Remita platform,” she said.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) has retained Nigeria’s economic growth forecast at 4.1 per cent for 2026, while warning that rising prices of essential goods could worsen poverty and food insecurity in the country.
IMF
The IMF made the projection in its July 2026 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update, released on Wednesday.
According to the report, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to grow by 4.1 per cent in 2026 and improve to 4.3 per cent in 2027, with both forecasts unchanged from the Fund’s April outlook.
The IMF also maintained its growth projections for sub-Saharan Africa at 4.3 per cent in 2026 and 4.5 per cent in 2027.
The Fund said Nigeria’s economic outlook continued to benefit from improved macroeconomic stability and favourable terms of trade but cautioned that the rising cost of essential commodities remained a major concern.
“Nigeria is supported by improved macroeconomic stability and favourable terms-of-trade effects, though higher prices for essentials are expected to further aggravate poverty and food insecurity,” the report stated.
The IMF noted that economic performance across sub-Saharan Africa would remain uneven, reflecting differences in policy implementation, reform progress and countries’ exposure to external shocks.
It added that oil-importing and non-resource-intensive economies would likely face increased pressure from rising food and energy prices, while some larger economies continued to benefit from earlier macroeconomic reforms.
Globally, the IMF revised its 2026 growth forecast downward to 3.0 per cent from the 3.1 per cent projected in April but raised its 2027 forecast to 3.4 per cent.
According to the Fund, the downgrade for 2026 reflects the impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, although stronger demand driven by advances in artificial intelligence and technology adoption has helped cushion some of the adverse effects.
Despite the resilience of the global economy, the IMF warned that risks remained tilted to the downside.
It identified renewed trade tensions, geopolitical conflicts and tighter global financial conditions as key threats to economic growth.
The Fund urged governments to rebuild fiscal buffers through credible fiscal consolidation, improved revenue mobilisation, stronger tax administration, efficient public spending and increased investment in infrastructure, skills development and targeted social protection programmes.
It also advised commodity-exporting countries to avoid excessive public spending during periods of high commodity prices.
“Economies benefiting from commodity windfalls and the upturn in the global technology cycle should avoid procyclical spending and save or redeploy gains within a credible medium-term fiscal framework anchored in debt sustainability,” the report stated.
The IMF further called on policymakers to accelerate structural reforms aimed at boosting productivity, strengthening labour markets, expanding digital and physical infrastructure, promoting predictable trade policies and enhancing international cooperation to support sustainable economic growth.
Nigeria’s data protection industry has grown into a N16.3 billion ecosystem within three years of formal regulation, according to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Olufemi Ibitayo, head of Finance Management and Control, NDPC, announced the milestone at the Regional Data Governance Exchange in Nairobi, Kenya, where he represented Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer, NDPC.
Presenting Nigeria’s progress, Ibitayo said the country’s strong regulatory framework and the establishment of an independent data protection authority have strengthened confidence in the digital economy and enhanced Nigeria’s reputation as a destination for foreign investment.
The Regional Data Governance Exchange, organised by the Data Governance in Africa Initiative and hosted by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner in Nairobi, brought together African data protection authorities to strengthen institutional capacity, deepen collaboration and promote peer learning on data governance. Photo: NDPC
He said the Commission’s “Compliance First, Not Punishment” approach encourages organisations to meet their obligations through dialogue and voluntary compliance, while ensuring effective regulatory oversight.
Ibitayo added that the NDPC is developing regulatory technology solutions, a regulatory sandbox and a data privacy innovation laboratory to further strengthen Nigeria’s data governance ecosystem and support future growth.
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)
The ongoing UNCITRAL session has brought together delegates from Nigeria, Australia, China, Ghana, France, the United States and other member states to develop harmonised legal frameworks aimed at facilitating secure, trusted and efficient cross-border digital commerce. Photo: NDPC
Meanwhile, Olatunji reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to global data governance during a meeting with Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim.
He made the remark on the sidelines of the ongoing United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), where Nigeria is participating alongside delegates from several member states to advance harmonised legal frameworks for secure and trusted cross-border digital commerce.
The NDPC boss highlighted the Commission’s achievements since its establishment, noting that strategic institutional reforms have positioned Nigeria as a leading voice in the global data protection ecosystem.
He said the country’s data protection framework has continued to earn international recognition, adding that the Commission remains committed to promoting trusted data governance as a driver of digital transformation, economic growth, innovation and sustainable development in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
During the meeting, Ambassador Ibrahim commended the Commission’s progress since the enactment of the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and called for the establishment of a comprehensive national data bank to support evidence-based policymaking, research and national development.
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