With a whopping N250 million seed capital
earmarked by the Lagos State Government for technology and innovation, tech
start-ups and young innovators in the State now have the opportunity to push
their entrepreneurial skills to the next level.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday,
launched Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) to be
chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof.
Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, while also setting aside $687,000 start-up funds for
investment in research and development of tech-focused solutions across the six
pillars of his administration’s development agenda.
The Governor said the establishment of the
Council and innovation funds officially began the process of implementing
strategies that would help in the realisation of the Smart City initiative of
the State.
Sanwo-Olu announced the on-going Art of
Technology (AOT) Lagos 1.0 conference organised by the Office of the Governor’s
Special Adviser on Innovation and Technology. No fewer than 1,500 young
innovators and tech solutions developers are attending the event being held at
Oriental Hotel on Victoria Island, with the theme: “Bridging the gap”.
The Governor said the innovation funds would
also be directed to support Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
research focusing on solving issues of national significance.
He said: “There is no gainsaying the fact that any society that wants to be reckoned with on the global stage must be grounded in the application of technology to growth and development. It is gratifying to note that the world has accepted that Lagos as the Silicon Valley of Africa with major investments by Microsoft and Google in the Ikeja-based Computer Village and emerging tech hubs, which have served as launch pads for the digital careers of numerous youths in software development.
“To further expand the opportunities, we are immediately earmarking seed capital of N250 million into Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council to be accessed by tech entrepreneurs and software developers in innovation ecosystem for them to create various solutions from artificial intelligence to robotics, to health informatics and green energy.”
Besides, the Governor also launched Open
Government Initiative, Innovation Master Plan and Lagos State Solution Hub to
further drive synergy between policymakers in the public sector and innovators
in the private sector.
While the Solution Hub is aimed at
democratising access to state actors and serving as the first point of call for
innovators, solutions providers and innovators on marketing their solutions,
the Innovation Master Plan would be focusing on the implementation of policies
in four critical areas to unleash a culture of problem-solving.
Sanwo-Olu said the master plan would be
addressing the challenge of access to data and funding for innovations, adding
that the plan would also bring about provision of faster Internet broadband
that would catalyse talent development.
He said: “Our Open Government Initiative is focused on data access, which is seen as critical for the building blocks of a solutions culture. Open data promotes inclusiveness, participation and more fit-for-purpose solutions. The Open Government initiative has kicked off and we will be communicating subsequent milestones with the public soon.”
The Governor urged the participants and
investors to leverage on the opportunities provided by the event to synergise
and network with other innovators towards developing life-changing software
that would transform healthcare, agro-business, transportation, food security,
housing and education in Lagos.
“It is our goal to foster the gains achieved by the Art of Technology 1.0 to enhance and empower the residents and investors in Lagos,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The convener and Special Adviser to the
Governor on Innovation and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, said the event had
the objective to bridge the gap between governance and innovation.
He said the Government and private sector
could no longer afford to work in silos, stressing that the public and private
sectors must co-create to key into the future. He added that outcomes of the
event would bring about enabling policies that would empower the Lagos
Government to build a sustainable tech and innovation industry.
Also, Commissioner for Science and
Technology, Mr. Hakeem Fahm, observed that Lagos Government had started to look
into the future by “thinking Smart” and using technology as an enabler to
realise Smart City status.
The conference also featured panels of
discussion with themes focusing on leveraging technology and innovation to
providing solutions and services in key sectors of the State’s economy.
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