NEWS UPDATE!
NEW MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO FACILITATE THE EASE OF DOING BUSINESS AT NOTAP
In collaboration with the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) for the promotion of transparency and efficiency in the business environment, the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) held a one day interactive session which held on 12th December 2017 to:
- Educate clients on the activities of NOTAP in line with its mandate to register technology transfer agreements in Nigeria;
- Intimate clients on the measures NOTAP has put in place to facilitate ease of doing business in the office;
- Obtain feedback from clients on the operations of the office; and
- Develop a more robust strategy for re-positioning the operations of the Office to enhance the ease of registering technology transfer agreements in Nigeria.
Key Deliberations
- NOTAP Industry Partnership
NOTAP, in a bid to enhance indigenous technological competences in Nigeria, has developed the NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship (NITTF) a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) platform designed to educate and train Nigerians through special PhD programs tenable in Nigerian Universities. NOTAP also recently partnered with PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc to upgrade the chemical laboratories of three research institutions including UNICAL. This was commissioned in a bid to upgrade technology facilities and to ensure that indigenous products and services are developed and utilized. The Director General of NOTAP stated that over 90% of the technologies powering the Nigerian economy are foreign, which was appalling for a country striving for development. NOTAP is currently seeking out more partners to facilitate the development of indigenous technology. In addition to these impressive strides, NOTAP has been mandated to assist in patenting all inventions and innovations originating from local universities and tertiary institutions. So far, NOTAP has successfully assisted in patenting more than ten (10) inventions developed by various institutions of higher learning in Nigeria.
- Registration Forms
Another development that has been introduced by NOTAP is the reduction of the application form to a one pager while the Technology Transfer Agreement registration questionnaire forms for the ICT sector, the Services sector and Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction sectors, have been reduced from eight to six pages. This single revised application form now contains all the necessary information required for the registration process and can also be downloaded for free from the NOTAP website.[1] The motive behind this is to reduce cost and time required to register a technology agreement. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) is also available for download free of charge. It is anticipated that with these introductions towards the ease of conducting business in Nigeria, the confidence level of potential foreign investors/partners can be enhanced. The schedule of applicable fees for registration alongside stages involved in the technology transfer agreement process and timelines is also available for download on the NOTAP website.[2]
- Digitalizing Registration for Efficient Service Delivery
The Director General announced that due to influx of requests for technology agreement registration, it has become pertinent to digitalize the operations of the office for efficient service delivery in line with world best practices. He further disclosed that the software is being developed by an ICT company and plans are currently underway to train NOTAP staff to understand the software. Registration forms will be scanned and uploaded directly to the NOTAP website. The objective behind this is to ensure that registration is seamless, in addition to providing a certain level of security for individuals and/or companies who intend to enter a technology agreement with Nigerians and vice versa. Additionally, NOTAP proposes to eradicate delays witnessed during registration as well as illegal bureaucracy within the agency. This is in line with the Presidential Enabling Business Council (PEBEC) initiative for ease of doing business in Nigeria. However, applicants will still be required to forward original copies of their applications to the NOTAP office. He further announced that the software would be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
- Other initiatives put in place to enhance the ease of doing business include:
- Timely submission of annual budget estimates of all states;
- Greater transparency and efficiency in business environment by screening workers;
- Streamlining application forms and improving customer service;
- Improved communication strategies i.e., calling to notify applicants when NOTAP registration certificates are ready; and
- Further review of the NOTAP registration guidelines.
The Director General of NOTAP, Dr. Mohammed DanAzumi has urged clients and interested persons to assist NOTAP by submitting suggestions and queries through the NOTAP email –info@notap.gov.ng or by calling him directly on: 08030720107.
For further information on this news update and economic sector, please contact Yetunde Okojie at S. P. A. Ajibade & Co. by telephone (+234 1 472 9890), fax (+234 1 4605092) mobile (+234 8023659364) and email (yokojie@spaajibade.com OR Oluwasolape Owoyemi via email at: oowoyemi@spaajibade.com and via telephone on: +234 7089537801)
[1]http://notap.gov.ng/sites/default/files/application_form_for_the_registration_of_technology_transfer_agreements.pdf
[2] http://notap.gov.ng/sites/default/files/stages_involved.pdf, http://notap.gov.ng/sites/default/files/stages_involved.pdf
