Declaring the conference and exhibition open, Kashifu Inuwa, NITDA’s director general, called on stakeholders in the technology ecosystem to rally round the government as such handshake is needed to nurture the younger ones.

This he said will help them to transform their ideas from conceptualisation to impact.

According to Inuwa, “We need to help our start-ups to have access to capital for that will enhance their ideas and provide platform for them to network and learn from the ecosystem.

The all-important innovation and technological feast, which have in attendance over 1000 attendees and 150 exhibitors, showcases innovative businesses locally, across the globe, and presupposes a brighter outlook for Nigeria Economy.

Here is Techeconomy rhapsody mirroring of the event.

According to Disrupt Africa’s research there are at least 481 startups active across the country as of August 2022, with Nigeria as one of Africa’s “big four” startup ecosystems alongside Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria.

However, Statista’s records indicate the number of startups in Nigeria exceeded 3,360 in 2022, the highest number in Africa, followed by Kenya and South Africa counted approximately 1,000 and over 660 startups in the same year, respectively.

Other key African markets for startups were Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, and Rwanda.

The NITDA Co-Create conference and exhibition provided insights into what the future of innovation and startups would be in Nigeria.

Ifeoluwa Agbaje, the communication lead of Vesti, told Techeconomy that “Vesti is a migration Fintech company, providing Legal and Financial assistance services for immigrants, from the moment they decide they want to migrate to other country and moving forward.

Ife said that Vesti “has been able to develop a proprietary tool that brings together financial pathways, and solving twin problems of immigration and financial challenge.

The Vesti Communication led personnel expressed, optimism that its audacious vision targeted at over 1 billion migrants will be achievable with initiatives such as; Saving Migration Account, partnership with over 400 universities resident in the United States of America and Canada United and special attention in MBA and STEM, Migration investment loan among others.

“Payaza”, led by Adeola Business Manager and Margret Product marketing was another exhibitor of significance at the conference who spoke to Techeconomy. The startup is focused on empowering businesses across Africa, by offering seamless transactions, collection of payments and signing it off globally.

The all Queen but star-studded team, which is just two years old, boast of very close to a million user and presence in places such as; Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and of course Nigeria which serves as its base.  It also has an array of products and solutions which include but not limited to “Payazaboost”, and provisions tailored towards varieties of business model.

Payaza seems to be all out redefining the payment platform in Nigeria and across the globe.

Also present at the exhibition was “All in Africa” an offshoot of GitHub; an organization which has set for itself the vision for making education available and accessible across Africa through open sourcing initiative. Kingsley a member of the team, who also doubles as a product engineer delved into to details of “All in Africa” an education initiative, which though commenced operation last year (2003) and currently at the pilot stage, has graduated over 100 students in different field.

According to Kingsley, “All in Africa ” is actually built to open-source education in Africa, and teach Africa about how to open source. It does not just focus on the technical education alone; anybody can benefit from it; for example, a product designer, developers, and technical writer.

Our correspondent also spoke with the duo of Utopia P2P innovation and Secure Management record in the course of the exhibition.  While Utopia2P2 focuses on packages such; web browsing, secure instant messaging, and secure storage transfer.

Secure Management Record specializes in APl facial verification and biometric solution, which was further demystify into: Face detect, Face activeness, Face attribute among others.

Expounding the features of Utopia P2P, Oludare Fagbile, noted that it is an ecosystem, an “Application” that has all its features (web browser, secure messenger) secured web.

According to him, Utopia2P2 users can have encrypted conversation on the platform, while also benefiting from its native cryptocurrency.

If you have Utopia2P2 and I have UtopiaP2P; we can chat and our conversation will be encrypted and secured. It’s all in one package.

Whilst, Valentina, a Front-End Engineer, who spoke on behalf of Secure Record Management, also noted that her organization renders services along human resources and with her “Workpadi” initiatives, it will help organization manage documents, organize pay role, calendar, reminders, and physical archives which help preserve paper documents and also convert into the electronic format, among other services.

In conclusion, the NITDA Co-Create West Africa again reminded us about the innovations among the young people, who with some support from the government is capable of addressing our multifaceted challenges.

This he said will help them to transform their ideas from conceptualisation to impact.

He made the remark during his keynote address at NITDA Co-Create West Africa Tech Expo, an event put together by GAGE Award in partnership with the Agency to showcase innovative businesses locally and across the globe with physical presence in Nigeria, which had its theme as “Evolve”.

Inuwa reiterated NITDA’s commitment to nurture an innovative and entrepreneurial ecosystem as enshrined in its Strategic Road-map and Action Plan 2.0 which was also highlighted at the NITDA Co-Create West Africa.

He said, “We need to help our start-ups to have access to capital for that will enhance their ideas and provide platform for them to network and learn from the ecosystem.

While acknowledging that the Nigerian Start-up Act Implementation is one of the several initiatives under the pillar, the NITDA boss urged the participants to forge a strategic partnership and collaborate to develop the ecosystem.

He said,

“This event is one of them. This is a private-public partnership. We co-created the conference, and the conference itself is to promote co-creation. We do a lot of these activities. We believe no one should live in isolation, so we need to work as an ecosystem to create value together.”

Inuwa, while using the occasion to share the new NITDA’s Strategic Road-map and Action Plan 2024-2027 which is in sync with one of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s defined priority areas of “Accelerating Diversification through Industrialisation and Digitisation” to the participants who were majorly IT stakeholders and tech enthusiasts maintained that for the ecosystem to succeed, stakeholders must join hands with government to build a strong institution which could only be achieved by transforming government’s services into solutions.

He said,

“I want to invite you to embrace the spirit of cooperation and collaboration. If you and government can work together, we can do better things; because there are things you can do, government cannot do and there are things government can do, you cannot do, but together, we can do greater things.”

The new NITDA’s Strategic Road-map and Action Plan which is billed to be unveiled in the first quarter of 2024 provides for eight pillars which are; Foster Digital Literacy and Cultivate Talents, Robust Technology Research Ecosystem, Strengthen Policy Implementation and Legal Framework, and Promote Inclusive Access to Digital Infrastructure and Services.

Others include Strengthen Cybersecurity and Enhance Digital Trust, Nurture an Innovative and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, Forge Strategic Partnerships and Collaboration and Cultivate a Vibrant Work Culture and an Agile Workforce in NITDA.

Meanwhile, Dr. Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), who was represented at the NITDA Co-Create event by Mr. Rueben Mouka, the director, Public Affairs at the Commission, advised that Nigeria should approach the tech global market with a clear understanding of its strength, challenges and realistic potentials adding that although Nigeria possesses  three comparative advantage of vibrant and youthful population, strategic location and the gateway to African market, the nation must be ready to also confront the challenges that threaten to impede its progress.

While identifying infrastructure deficits, unreliable power supply and poor internet connectivity as some of the barriers that affect investor and innovators alike admonished that Nigeria should focus on “fostering an enabling environment that nurtures innovation, promotes entrepreneurship and addresses the underlying infrastructure and infrastructure challenges.”

He said, “the nation must leverage unique strengths  such as a deep understanding of local markets to develop solutions that address the needs and preferences of not just African consumers but the world at large.”

Earlier in his welcome remarks, Mr. Johnson Aroh, the convener, GAGE Award, described that the NITDA Co-Create West Africa is more than just a showcase of the latest technological concepts that exist in the ecosystem but a platform that fosters creativity, drives digital transformation and builds the ecosystem where ideas flourish.

He stated that the conference would offers a rare privilege of experiencing first-hand cutting edge solutions and groundbreaking projects that embody the spirit of technological excellence and ingenuity.

He said,

“Let us embrace the diversity of perspectives and expertise that enrich our collective understanding of technology transformative power.  Together, we can chart the course toward the future of technology as a force for driving positive change and empowering individuals and communities across Africa”.

While commending NITDA the leadership of NITDA  for its vision in co-creating the event, Mr. Aina said the Agency’s unwavering commitment to promoting technological innovation and digital inclusion have been instrumental to the level the nation has attained today.