The Lagos state government has acknowledged the incredible wealth of talent birthed and groomed in Yaba incubation hubs and has finalized the purchase of an 800square meter land in Yaba area of Lagos state to build Nigeria’s technology hub.
Speaking at the Lagos at 50 international conference themed ‘Towards a Smart City’, Akinwunmi Ambode, Governor of Lagos state said; about 3 months ago, I went to Sabo in Yaba to see the concentration of technology hubs and startups, and there, on the spot I said I would like to support the movement because I can see beyond what others are seeing.
“I decided that the industrial park in Sabo will be turned into a technology hub. I went further and concluded plans last week to purchase the 8000sq meter land adjacent to it build a tech hub,” Ambode said.
According to him, the idea is to give to the tech guys the space they need to use technology to actualize our vision to make Lagos a smart city.
Nigeria’s technology hub based in Yaba area of Lagos has continued to gather serious momentum from foreign investors who have seen the great potential and benefit of technology hubs and startups in the country.
In 2016, Disrupt Africa released a report which revealed that Nigerian startups received over US$49,404,000 direct investments. According to the report, African technology startups received direct investments to the tune of about US$185,785,500. Of all the countries featured on the report, 24 percent of the startups are based in Nigeria.
Apart from venture capitalists and fortune 500 global technology companies trooping in to explore and benefit from the immense talent in the hubs and startup companies, influential tech business enthusiasts like Mark Zukerberg, Founder of the global brand, Facebook have expressed interest in Nigeria’s technology space, evidenced in his visit to the hub last year.
Tech experts say that the vision to transform Lagos to a smart city is achievable if more attention is given paid to the youth population who are naturally interested in using and creating technology.
Sola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), told BusinessDay that Nigeria has unexploited talent in the technology space and it would be nice to see more attention and investment in the tech space.
Jumoke Akiyode
