The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, has expressed the Lagos State Government’s readiness to host the GITEX Nigeria conference in September next year.
He said the State Government and indeed the entire technology ecosystem in Nigeria would be very receptive to the coming of the global tech show to the country, especially Lagos State, where tech and innovation have found a good ground in Africa.
Dr. Hamzat stated this during a meeting with Trixie LohMirmand, the Chief Executive Officer of Kaoun International, and her management team in the Lagos Pavilion at the ongoing GITEX 2024 in Dubai.
The Deputy Governor stated that there could not have been a better time for the tech world to make their presence felt in Africa, particularly Nigeria, than now, when the country is experiencing an upsurge in the growth of talents in technology and innovation.
Hamzat said the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration was deliberate in its decision to make technology drive more of the State’s development programmes.
He said: “Lagos, for example, does what we call ‘Art of Technology (AOT),’ which is now in its fifth year. With the AOT, a lot of young entrepreneurs in the IT and innovation space have been discovered, and many of them are now running as business, with its attendant effect on our economy and the entire ecosystem.
“Another great thing that we’ve discovered is that the number of young entrepreneurs in Lagos State is unbelievable, and like you said, we can’t bring everybody here to Dubai. So, bringing GITEX to Lagos is very good, and it will allow even other countries to see what is possible. Because the news that we get out there is not real.”
The Deputy Governor added that the young innovators in Lagos are already creating real solutions, saying their creation is solving real-life problems and are helping their immediate families, friends, and communities.
“There are 10-year-old, 12-year-old children that all they do is coding, because they want to help their parents sell their products and services. For example, young innovators whose parents are fishermen or fish sellers. The parents are probably petty traders. But these primary and secondary school pupils sit down, do the codes to help their parents sell, and people come all over the place to buy. The parents are surprised to see the massive turnout of customers at their stalls—that is the power of technology and innovation, and as a State Government, we are more than happy to host an event of this nature that would help to connect these talents that we have in abundance to the countless opportunities out here.
“We have pockets of knowledge in our State. The question for us is, how do we explode it, how do we actually make it out there, and then allow people to benefit? The creators also need to benefit from their thinking. So, my hope is that GITEX Nigeria can do that for us when you are able to bring all these young people from different areas.
“I know its technology, but how do we take it to entertainment? Entertainment is big in Nigeria; the creative industry is the next oil as far as we are concerned, and that is why we are investing heavily in that sector,” Hamzat said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Kaoun, Trixie LohMirmand, said, “Technology is a necessity; it is not a luxury, saying that the world needs it for survival.”
She said the last time she visited Nigeria for a meeting, she and her team saw young Nigerians who “sat in a small room with systems on their laps doing great things.”
LohMirmand, whose company organises GITEX Global, said they are committed to discovering new partners and to connect Nigeria to opportunities that are yet untapped in the technology space.
She said: “That is our role. We will need a lot of support from your Government in terms of logistics and security for us to organise a good show in Lagos, Nigeria.”
GITEX, the biggest technology showpiece in the world, connects people with industry leaders from big tech, global governments, innovative startups, expert investors, and corporate buyers. It is a computer expo held annually at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates.
The event underpins the rapid technology-driven transformations, investments, and projects shaping the economies of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
This year is the fourth time that the Lagos State Government is attending the World Technology event. The last three attendances by the state have driven value to Lagos, bringing investment opportunities into the tech space and also enhancing the capacity of tech start-ups, directly and indirectly.