Cashless policy: Galaxy Backbone targets Kano markets with ICT

Galaxy Backbone (GBB), a public enterprise of the federal government, has said it is targeting entrenching the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in markets across Kano state to boost the commerce-driven economy of Northern Nigeria business hub.

The managing director/CEO of the company, Professor Muhammad Abubakar disclosed this yesterday in Kano during a stakeholders and customers awareness forum with the theme: Digital Infrastructure Services for Economic and Sustainable Development.

He said the Tier IV data centre in Kano was conceived to bring the citizenry of Kano and Nigeria as a whole closer to the infrastructure that will enhance their businesses and the public sector organisations in meeting up with their mandates.

“We are here specifically to see that we provide that platform that will make business or commerce much easier and simpler in providing the data centre services as well as also providing the connectivity wherever you are in Kano considering the fact that Kano is a business hub; so that will enhance whatever they are going to do,” He added.

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Specifically on the new phase of cashless economy the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is introducing from January 9, Prof. Abubakar said the basic thing for Galaxy Backbone is to ensure wide range connectivity of the served and unserved areas “in such a way that the policy will permeate the whole of the country and that is what we are doing in trying to provide services to all the states of the country.”

He said by the end of December, GBB would have provided services to at least 23 states with the target of providing connectivity to all the major cities of the 36 states and FCT by the second quarter of 2023.

Kano state government, which was represented by the Commissioner for Science and Technology, Idris Garba promised to partner with the company, while also noting that it has provided physical infrastructure development within the metropolitan to ease the business within the metropolitan including the over N1.5billion fiber optics installation across the metropolitan areas to boost ICT-related activities.