Taking part in the Nigerian silicon Valley story: opportunities for foreign investments, knowledge sharing, and strategic partnerships.
Nigeria, representing one of the MINT countries, has experienced in recent times an increased level of foreign investments in the digital and technology sector, compared to other African countries. In 2017, the country raised ($114.6million) startup funding in the digital space (according to Quartz). Yabacon Valley (YV) is seen as the Silicon Valley of Africa because of the rising establishments of tech hubs by international and national investors including state governments, banks, and international digital companies. In addition, the recent announcements of new hubs by Google and Facebook also denote that the upward investment is steady.
In this digital and technology space, Nigeria in less than two years recorded 55 Tech Hubs, growing at an annual rate of 139%, with Lagos Nigeria counting more hubs and programmes than any other city across the African continent (such as Cape town, Kigali, Accra, etc.). In similar winds, France is on the move to become the nucleus of Innovation in Europe, with major technology events holding in Paris, including Viva Technology (of which Nigerian companies were duly present).
We see the synergy in this industry between Nigeria and France, which is also portrayed by strategic partnerships between companies from both countries, for example, the partnership between Ingenico Group and Interswitch (for the promotion of electronic transactions).
The panel session seeks to explore more opportunities for more strategic foreign investments, trainings and partnerships within the digital technology space. With the active participation of the Nigerian government in improving partnerships and an active population of digital enthusiasts in Nigeria, we see the spotlight on digital and technology as an imperative for improving the trade balance between Nigeria and France.
Moderator: Rufai Oseni, Inspiration FM Lagos.
Panelists:
- Wale Gbadamosi Oyekanmi, Founder and CEO, Dare.Win
- Femi Longe, Co-Founder, Co-Creation Hub
- Clement Aganahi, Founder and CEO, ENSIATE
- Abiola – Awosika – Fapetu, Founder, OASIS-Nigeria
- Temitope Ogunsemo, Founder and CEO, Krystal Digital (TBC)
