GILBERT EKUGBE
Acknowledging the vital role of tech startups fast becoming major economic value creators in the 21st century, the Bank of Industry (BOI) has launched a tech hub to promote skills development, youth entrepreneurship and job creation in new technology and innovations.
At the official commissioning of the Tech Hub in Ajah area of Lagos, by the Governor of Lagos, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, he said the tech hub is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative by the Development Finance Institution (DFI) and a manifestation of the deliberate programme BOI is implementing towards building a dynamic and vibrant startup ecosystem in Nigeria.
“As the foremost DFI in Nigeria, BOI has the mission to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing financial and business support services to enable new businesses emerge and existing enterprises to thrive,” he said.
In his words, “This is driven by the realization that tech startups are becoming major economic value creators in the 21st century and this trend will accelerate especially as artificial intelligence, robotics, big data are becoming embedded in our daily lives. It is also motivated by the desire to support quality projects with high developmental impact such as job creation and poverty alleviation to enhance the socio-economic standard of especially, young Nigerians.”
Pitan noted that the bank was sponsoring the hub in recognition of the ingenuity and creativity of young people in Nigeria, and the need to channel these to more productive and impactful ends, rather than social vices like Internet fraud.
According to the BOI boss, “The overall objective is to ensure that our CSR investments generate better benefits for the country; and a hub like this gives young people an opportunity to add their own quota to the economic development of Lagos State, and Nigeria as a whole.”
“We believe that at a centre like this, talent can be discovered and harnessed, and also it will help to grow the tech ecosystem in the country, get more young people involved in it, make it more attractive to investments and this will augur well for Nigeria in general,” he stressed.
He said to ensure the initiative is sustainable, BOI has partnered with Vatebra, a technology firm to manage the day-to-day operations at the Hub, which has facilities including high-speed internet access, shared and private offices spaces, well equipped robotics training lab, among others.
Vatebra is a leading software solutions company in Africa with offices in Nigeria (Lagos & Abuja), Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Sierra-Leone.
He added that the bank would roll out series of programmes to build and strengthen the capacities of entrepreneurs to ideate, incubate and launch successful businesses.
“These programmes will be complemented with funding opportunities through schemes from BOI schemes and other financing institutions. The belief is that the hub will be a platform to productively engage youths around Ajah, Sangotedo, and beyond, and also create an ecosystem that will in the near future add to Nigeria’s economic growth,” he averred.
Earlier, the Deputy Managing Director, Mike Aigbe, said the project is in line with the Lagos State initiative aimed at empowering people to drive Lagos State.
“The future of the country is not oil, we cannot continue to rely on oil. Our future is our people, children, so we must give them the right resources, education to move the country forward,” he said.
The acting Managing Director, 9mobile, Stephane Beuvelet, said its core value is to bring about innovation and raising the bar and aspiration of young entrepreneurs.
“We are here as an enabler, providing internet access for entrepreneurs. We believe this is what is important for entrepreneurs to be connected 24 hours with the rest of the world while also being able to compete on the global scale. I want to commend the Bank of Industry (BOI) for supporting and building our capacity, support local content and innovation,” he said.
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