Acquisition International - August 2017 75 BudgIT is a creative agency, who develops a multi-platform a user- friendly presentation of state and federal budgets, to include charts and performance analysis for proper understanding of what budgets entail. As part of our Nigeria: Remaining a Key FDI Destination in 2017 series, we interviewed the lead partner, Oluseun Onigbinde to find out more about firm’s financial and technical expertise. ith a population of over 180 million people, Nigeria is by some distance the most populated country in Africa, and despite the economic slowdown in recent times, there still exists a huge amount of potential for sustainable growth. As part of our Nigeria: Remaining a Key FDI Destination in 2017 series, we place the spotlight on BudgIT’s who are based in Lagos, Nigeria. BudgIT’s user-friendly presentation of state and federal budgets is critical to benchmark governance and the government’s allocation to specific sectors. Lead partner of BudgIT, Oluseun Onigbinde begins the interview, by revealing his own ethos and how this fits in with the firm’s wider work. “I believe in a just, transparent and fair society, where every citizen within a community has equal access of information about the fiscal position of their society. I intend to use technologies of any form, that appeal across every literacy span, to make information especially public data more accessible, transparent and understandable to Nigerians and to the great people of the world. “We clearly want to use both the firm’s financial and technical expertise, to make budgets understandable and deepen discussions around its allocation and expenditure, as our contribution to citizenship participation.” Founded in 2011, BudgIT is a civic organisation that applies technology to intersect citizen engagement with institutional improvement, to facilitate societal change, Oluseun reveals. “Aa a pioneer in the field of social advocacy melded with technology, BudgIT uses an array of tech tools to simplify the budget and matters of public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising the standards of both transparency and accountability in government. “We are in constant partnership with civil society, public institutions and the media, chiefly in the areas of fiscal analyses, civic technology and data representation. BudgIT’s methodology is deploying refined data mining skillsets, to creatively represent data and empower citizens to use the resulting information in demanding improved service delivery.” Beyond budget access, BudgIT functions on the premise that budgets must work for the people. Most emblematic is their project-tracking tool (Tracka), created in 2014, Oluseun tells us. Company: BudgIT Name: Oluseun Onigbinde Email:
[email protected] Web: yourbudgit.com Address: 55 Moleye Street, Alagomeji, Lagos Nigeria Phone: +234 908 333 1633 A Trusted Hub for Public Finance Data W 1708AI01 A Trusted Hub for Public Finance Data “Tracka is now functional in 17 States and allows Nigerians post pictures of developmental projects in their communities, with BudgIT’s project officers aiding citizens offline to communicate with their elected representatives and demand completion of the government projects in their neighbourhoods. “So far, BudgIT had been able to reach over 750,000 Nigerians via digital and physical spaces, leading online and offline conversations on government finance and public sector efficiency. With over 2,000 unique data requests monthly from private, corporate and development entities/individuals, BudgIT is now widely regarded as a trusted hub for public finance data in Nigeria. “Offline, and on the ground, BudgIT collaborates across the public-private sectors to deliver programmes that shore up the capacity of its peers and willing government institutions. Relying on donor funding, we have worked with 23 civil society organisations to revamp their digital outlook, policy analyses and report presentation formats, and are currently experimenting with Nigeria’s first Data Journalism platform.” BudgIT’s past and recent engagements in the public sector, include partnerships with the National Assembly, the National Assembly Budget and Research Office, the Budget Office of the Federation and the Kaduna State Government. Oluseun then provides his closing remarks, underlining the influence that BudgIT has in the world today. “On request, BudgIT has also provided support to the Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Ministry of Budget and Planning and the Lagos State Ministry of Budget and Planning. “Simultaneously, BudgIT continues to influence the national agenda on public spending, with its policy papers covering government finance, sub-national viability, Open Government schemes, as well as the analyses of anti-corruption and transparency initiatives. As a member of the Civicus Alliance and Open Alliance, BudgIT is also leading the charge to ensure Nigeria’s membership of the global Open Government Partnership. “BudgIT, which was began as an idea incubated by the co-Creation Hub in Lagos, Nigeria now has additional offices in Sierra Leone, and Ghana.”