Techeconomy Business Series kicked off with a webinar last Thursday. Discussants dissected the technological advancement in Nigeria; highlighting the wins, challenges and opportunities.
The panelists: Hillary Utuke, Oluwabusuyi Adonis, Abraham Great and Cynthia Alabi and let’s not forget our amazing host, Imoh Anselem.
The webinar kicked off with a brief technological development from 1960 to date by Mr. Utuke. According to him, in 1960, there was more focus on industrialization and reliance on radio and basically telecommunication systems. Unfortunately, not everyone could afford it.
Policies were made in 1980 that resulted in a major liberation leading to increased Internet access and mobile penetration.
The Internet orchestrated the development of new business models and cross-border trade became enhanced, reaching more people.
However, as the Internet is perceived as an ocean by the first world countries, offering endless possibilities, for the developing economies like Nigeria, there are still challenges of availability and affordability. Thus, countries in this part of the world still view the Internet as water in a mug, thereby limiting people’s creativity and innovation.
The discussants unanimously agreed that despite efforts by the Government and private sector that led to over $75 billion investment in the telecommunications sector, there is need for improved actions to deepen penetration and cover clusters with no Internet access.
From the foregoing, technology advanced to Fintechs, Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, amongst others.
An outstanding advancement tech, according to Mr. Utuke is the AI which has empowered humans to achieve more and even advance developments.
On his part, Mr. Adonis spoke about government’s role towards advancing tech space in Nigeria.
According to him, “they are trying in their own little way especially now that the population of the country is on the high side (approximately 250 million people)”.
He opined that technological advancement is mostly driven by entrepreneurs as evident in most countries, Nigeria inclusive.
“An undeniable example is the situation with the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) who sent some people to the space and needed the help of Elon Musk and his SpaceX to bring these people back. They are unfortunately still stuck there”, he explained.
Mr. Adnois further advised that Nigerians should not be limited to what the government can do, “entrepreneurs need to take advantage of the technological space. The government can help the technological advancement by creating an enabling environment that allows people access to technology”.
In her contributions, Cynthia Alabi emphasized that rural dwellers must be carried along in the technological advancement as means to drive inclusive growth.
She believes that most sectors in Nigeria are not lagging behind as perceived in most quarters.
According to her, innovation has permeated every sector in Nigeria; however, there are huge opportunities for improvements.
She gave example of Flutterwave that is innovating in the payment space making it easy to send and receive money abroad.
“Also, in the logistics and transportation sector, Moove has demonstrated capacity. This was an industry largely dominated by Uber’s innovation, but today we see LagRide and other hailing taxi apps.
While contributing to the discussion, Abraham Great said the government step up its support to emerging technologies by removing regulatory bottlenecks.
He added that the infrequent power supply in the country does not allow for proper usage of technology.
Making further contributions, Mr. Utuke said that advancing technology is for the good of the country. He cited ICT sector’s contributions to the nation’s GDP as an example, especially, coming out of COVID-19.
“The statistics say that in 2022, the tech industry contributed 16.2% to the country’s GDP. The Fintech, eCommerce and ICT sector has been major drivers to this growth”, said Mr. Utuke who expressed optimism that there will be more addition to the growth “if we move ahead from production and consumption to creation”.
“It is a known fact that Government will try to drill anyone that makes a notable creation in Nigeria so it means creating a solution without dependence on the government. This means, first, identify a problem, create a solution. This will attract investors who are scouting for innovative ideas. When all of these are in place, then the government will have no choice but to succumb”, he added.
The panelists at Techeconomy Business Series – Webinar also shed light on the opportunities in the tech space.
They believe the agricultural sector needs to be leveraged on and innovatively developed it into multi-billion industry capable of creating millions of jobs.
“Nigerians need to leverage our creative nature and develop things that are needed. For instance, build your own AirBnB for Nigerians in diaspora; create a nice resort where they can come to relax when they come back to the country.
“Also to fast-track many things; leverage AI and digital marketing. Look at the problems in the country, create solutions and drive it from there. Don’t limit yourself to your locality”.
They also advised the techies to attend technological trade fairs, roadshows or exhibitions around the world, both online and on-site, to gain learn and relearn.
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