The immediate past Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Tony Ojobo has adduced reasons why he decided to set up the TechX Innovation Hub in Enugu, South East Nigeria.
While speaking at the media unveiling of the Hub, Ojobo disclosed that the essence of setting up the Innovation Hub is to address the level of unemployment in the region, which he described as frightening.
“We realized that there is a challenge of unemployment, so our organization decided to set up an ICT Innovation Hub in Enugu to contribute our quota towards addressing this problem in the South East Ecosystem,” he said.
Ojobo, who was recently appointed the President of the African ICT Foundation, added that the level of ICT penetration in the South East is very low, referring to a study, which was sponsored by the Nigerian Communications Commission in collaboration with with the Young innovators of Nigeria in 2016 to determine the level of innovations and ICT penetration in the region.
According to him, the study revealed that the region has very few industries and organizations that can absorb the rising number of unemployed graduates in the ecosystem. Thus, it becomes imperative to embrace technology as a way to tap into the ingenuity of the youths.
“The youths of this region are reputed to be ingenious, hence the need to channel this ingenuity to productive purposes for common good. Initiatives such as this will contribute to reducing cybercrime by winning over the practitioners and turning them into innovators,” he noted.
He explained that TechX stands for Technology Extra. Meaning, technology not applied is useless. Technology has to be applied to deliver value to lives and businesses. The X factor of technology is anchored on the things it can accomplish to contribute to human development.
Speaking on the strategic vision of Tech X, Ojobo disclosed that the Innovation Hub is focused on four key areas, which he calls the 4A’s of technological advancement; Awareness, Access, Adoption and Application.
In his words: “A key strategy that addresses the issue of low ICT penetration is awareness. People need to be aware of the power of ICT to transform lives, businesses and the economy at large. The most capitalized firms in the world today are playing in the ICT space. The capacity of this technology to lift peoples and nations out of poverty is phenomenal.
“In recognition of these tested facts, we decided to start from the area where penetration is low and scale up to other regions in the country. TechX is a global organization that is concerned with the slow adoption of technology in the developing countries, especially Africa. Nigeria however, has the market, the people and local innovations that can disrupt business models around the world. We are on track to making this happen.
“At TechX we shall create a platform for people with ideas to incubate, startups, business developers, coders, programmers and techies to perfect and scale up their innovations through a structured mentoring process, training and knowledge development programs. Our focus will encompass the following; Coding, Gaming, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT’s) Robotics, Digital Innovations, Business Development, ICT Training, Software Development, Cyber Security, Digital Marketing etc.
“Our teeming youths can focus their creative energies more positively with a platform such as TechX Innovation Hub to give them a head-start in live. ICT has become the new oil and the countries that have depended on oil as the economic mainstay are beginning to embrace technology. We have examples from UAE, Qatar and other countries in the Gulf region. The federal government has been making efforts towards diversification of the economy, however, more still needs to be done through the encouragement of innovations, startups and SMEs.
“In realization of this need, TechX was set up to play our part towards the economic development of our people and thus contribute to poverty reduction in the region in particular and the country at large.
“On this journey, we shall be collaborating with relevant Stakeholders, namely; the Media, Regulators, Hub owners, Tertiary Institutions, State Governments, Federal Government. SME’s, Multilateral Agencies, Embassies, Equipment Manufacturers, Ministries Departments and Agencies and other important Stakeholders.”