Digital Future of Nigeria: Potentials and Risks

On the 1^st of August, 2019, representatives from the HUT Foundation attended the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Foundation’s one-day discussion roundtable on ‘The Digital Future of Nigeria— Potentials and Risks’.

A key note speech was given by Chika Nwobi, founder of L5lab, where he discussed the growth of the Nigerian technological advancement from the early 2000s till date. The need to encourage start-up businesses in the technology sector was also emphasised. The present security challenges in the country was on of the factors that he mentioned hindered proper tech advancement, and the lack of well-equipped research labs scattered across the country was also another major drawback.

The first panel discussion commenced with Solape Hammond (Co-Founder and CEO of Impact HUB, Lagos), Obinna Ukwani (Founder, Bruk Oil Mills), Chika Nwobi (Founder L5Labs), with Laolu Osinbajo (Founder, AWA Customer) as the moderator. Issues touching how technology can be properly used to combat insecurity and the importance of government support towards the start-up businesses and entrepreneurs in the technological field were discussed.

The Second panel discussion begged the question: what can we expect from Digitalization in Nigeria? The panellists were Dr. Amina Sambo (National Coordinator, office for ICT innovation and entrepreneur), Woochan Chang (Country Director, Korea International Cooperation Agency) and Heige Sato (Portfolio Manager, German Development Cooperation). The need to start education geared towards teaching school children basic technological knowledge was mentioned. Getting them familiar with tech gadgets and simultaneously providing the tools needed to teach them how their ideas can be expressed through technology is as an excellent method of achieving future digitization.

Technology is a key factor in the social and economic growth of any society. Nigeria is a country with a vast pool of creative and innovative minds and if such individuals are given the needed support, our technological growth would triple within the next five years.