NICTAA

National ICT Alliance of Afghanistan

The National Information Communications Technology Alliance of Afghanistan (NICTAA) is a consortium of ICT players, NGOs, companies and educational institutions in Afghanistan. It is a strong voice of the ICT players in the country. NICTAA was founded in 2007 by 11 leading ICT associations and companies in the country, known as the Founding Members of the Alliance. NICTAA’s Founding Members are Afghan Computer Science Association (ACSA), Afghan Media International (AMN), South Asia Free Media Association (SAFMA) Afghanistan, National Internet Services Providers Association of Afghanistan (NISPAA), Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless (AWCC), Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) Afghanistan, American University of Afghanistan (AUAF), Kardan University, MTN Afghanistan and Telecom Development Company of Afghanistan (TDCA)/Roshan.

NICTAA is comprised of three major pillars of the ICT sector, 1) Private Companies, 2) Civil Society, and 3) Academia. Its membership includes but is not limited to Telecommunications Companies, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Solution Providers, Software Development Companies, Hardware Manufacturers and Dealers, Electronic Media and Entertainment Production Companies, Associations of the Professionals, Educational Institutions and Universities, Research and Development Centers and Associations of the ICT Consumers. NICTAA membership is open to companies, academia, associations and NGOs directly or indirectly involved in the sector.

NICTAA serves as visionary for ICT in Afghanistan. It is striving to continuously support the ICT development efforts, and promote ICT as a sector and a tool for development through engaging diverse stakeholders, its membership, the industry players, the civil society, governments, intergovernmental agencies, youth, women, the international community and the mass media in ICT programs and activities in the country. NICTAA is emerging as a strong voice to its membership and to the ICT actors, providing the membership with technical and legal support and ensuring their involvement in all related decision-making and policymaking processes.

It represents the Afghan non-government ICT sector at the National ICT Council of Afghanistan by three permanent seats to lobby and negotiate at government level on behalf of its members and influence policies and legislative mechanisms. NICTAA is a member of the World’s largest consortium of ICT industry associations, the World IT and Services Alliance, representing Afghanistan on the international level.

The Alliance organizes its activities based on its five strategic directions: 1) Leadership, 2) Education, 3) Policy, 4) Advocacy, and 5) Industries. It is seeking to reform policies, enhance regulations including self-regulations, develop human capacity, spark innovation and creativity, ensure the protection of intellectual property rights, and serve as a focal point for the development of national strategies as well as coalitions in the sector. It is promoting the relations and representation of Afghan ICT sector with the international community to share the sector’s experiences and challenges, and attract foreign direct investments to the country.