The Managing Director of Vertex Group, Mr Shitij Taneja, says Nigeria is the Silicon Valley of West Africa.
Taneja asserted while interacting with newsmen on the sideline of the IOT West Africa Exhibition and Conference in Lagos on Wednesday.
The IOT West Africa Exhibition and Conference is a three-day event organised by Vertex Next and co-located by Data Centre Africa Cloud Centre Africa
Taneja said there is a lot of potential in the growth among the youth putting their efforts toward the development of technology in the country.
According to the managing director, Nigeria stands as a pivotal marker in the technological renaissance sweeping Nigeria and the broader West African region.
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According to him, the strategic importance of Lagos as the host city intertwines with Nigeria’s rapid development in technology, infrastructure, and a burgeoning digital economy.
“It underscores the commitment to enhancing the business landscape, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises within technology, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors, through the lens of digital innovation.
“There are a lot of investments from the data centres towards the sector and IoT and is required towards adopting technologies
“IoT is something that is required in our daily lives and to which West Africa and Nigeria is adapting.
“Nigeria is the next Silicon Valley of Africa so to help aggregate that fire that we have in Nigeria, this event is acting as a fuel which is igniting that fire.
‘We are trying to also bring in investors, which are pouring in money for the startups,’’ he said.
According to him, there are a lot of startups in Africa and there has been an investment of around $70 billion that has been invested in the startups, with Nigeria having a major part of the money.
Taneja said that the conference was acting as an aggregator to fuel the fire to enhance more investments in the West African economy.
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr Kashifu Inuwa, called for collaboration among stakeholders.
Inuwa was represented by the Director of Corporate Planning and Strategy, Dr Aristotle Onumo.
His keynote address had the theme “Regulatory Framework Challenges to Support IT Developments in West Africa.
In the address, Inuwa highlighted that the conference theme resonated with NITDA’s vision, and pointed out that the agency’s research priorities encompassed IoT, AI, Blockchain Technology, UAVs, Additive Manufacturing, and Robotics.
He said that collaboration was imperative for economic growth and development, to share ideas and strategies to create solutions, especially in the areas of technology.
According to him, the agency has come up with regulations and standards in the area that are believed to catalyse and develop new businesses and encourage collaboration
“There are few ways we can achieve this collaboration; one is through policy and regulation.
“Also, establishing a clear and supportive policy and regulation that can encourage not only the individual ideas but also in building a platform.
