Johan Forssell received Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy

“Nigeria is an important partner for Sweden and we see great opportunities for a stronger partnership within areas such as innovation, digitalisation and telecommunications. Cooperation within these areas is key to the green transition that both Sweden and Nigeria strive towards,” said Mr Forssell.

To get a better picture of how Sweden works with innovation and digitalisation, Dr Tijani met with key players in the Swedish ecosystem for innovation, technology and start-ups, including the Royal Institute of Technology, Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE) and industry organisation Swedish Incubators & Science Parks. He also met with innovation agency Vinnova’s Director General Darja Isaksson and made study visits to Ericsson, Norrsken House and Epicenter. 

Dr Tijani was accompanied by a delegation including Director General/CEO of Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi and Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission Aminu Maida. This was Dr Tijani’s first visit to Sweden.

After South Africa, Nigeria is Sweden’s second largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa. To promote exchanges specifically in the field of innovation, the Nordic-Nigeria Connect event already takes place on a regular basis.