The Innovation and Development Fund set up by the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), yesterday got a boost with the announcement that the Chairman of Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh has donated the sum of N50m to the programme.
Speaking while announcing the donation, the Zinoc Boss commended the Executive Council of the NCS for birthing the idea of an innovation hub that would incubate start-ups and foster the spirit of creative genius which abounds in Nigeria’s increasingly tech-focused youths.
While appealing to other stakeholders to support the initiative to ‘‘train our brothers and sisters who shall lead globally certified multinational companies in the next few years, Ekeh said N20million will be immediately released for the programme and a subsequent annual donation of the sum of N10 million respectively in the next three years.
He believes technology is the profession in the world that can transform the child of poor parents into the richest person in the world, as the global economy is today dominated by tech giants.
‘‘There is hardly any business in the world today that you can run without technology. If you look at the list of the top five most valuable companies in the world today, technology companies dominate,” he said.
He added that Nigeria is blessed with millions of smart kids and what many of them need to emerge as global billionaires is that little support which NCS is championing. “I wish to commend the NCS leadership for coming up with this brilliant idea which I am sure will make a huge difference in the lives of our tech-savvy youths and the future of this country,’’ Ekeh stated.
The Innovation & Development Fund, set up by the NCS, the umbrella organization of all Information Technology professionals, interest groups and stakeholders in Nigeria, is geared at creating the much-needed resources and backing to support research and innovation in Information Technology. Furthermore, the fund, which was officially launched at the NITMA awards, is to aid start-ups in transforming their ideas into working systems for national development.
Instructively, the 2021 edition of the NITMA awards organized by the NCS saw Zinox emerge one of the award winners at the event, claiming the much-coveted pioneer Technology Company of the Year gong.
The award marks another addition to a long list of local and international honours and recognitions earned by the company in its two decades of exceptional leadership and disruptive dominance in the ICT ecosystem in Sub-Saharan Africa. Interestingly, the latest award comes on the heels of the 20th anniversary of the company.
Zinox turned 20 on October 10, 2021.