By Sandra Nnaemeka
As oil producing countries around the world grapple with the volatility in the oil market, thus impacting negatively on those countries, economic diversification is taking the front seat in discussions in many international fora.
The dependence on natural resources such as oil, with the attendant climate change problems has made fossil fuel less attractive.
These challenges have led to nation states so affected by this to come up with policies that encourage the diversification of their economies.
These were the remarks by the Founder, TechX Innovation Hub, Mr. Tony Ojobo, at the official launch on Tuesday, January 15, 2019.
Mr. Ojobo who doubles as the President, African ICT Foundation, said that the Hub located at 56, Ezilo Street, Independence Layout, Enugu State, Nigeria, was set up as an ICT Innovation Hub to contribute their quota towards addressing unemployment and other societal problems in the South East Ecosystem.
In his words: “Our country has recently witnessed dwindling fortunes as a result of the volatility in the international oil market.
“This state of affairs has stalled economic development, thus making it difficult for government to provide the necessary social safety nets and benefits for the citizens.
“The level of unemployment has remained in the double digits for several years. The available job opportunities cannot absorb the teeming number of graduates coming out of the universities. This has led to high level of criminality and other social vices now prevalent in our communities.
“In realization of these challenges, 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.
“The level of unemployment in this region is frightening and something has to be done urgently to address this trend. In 2016 in collaboration with the Young innovators of Nigeria, The Nigerian Communications Commission, sponsored the organization to carry out a study of the ICT ecosystem in the South East to determine the level of innovations and ICT penetration in the region.
“The report showed that the level of ICT penetration was very low and that something needed to be done to address it.
“The region has very few industries and organizations that can absorb the rising number of unemployed graduates in the ecosystem.
“It therefore 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.
What TechX stands for
“TechX stands for Technology Extra – this means that 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.
The Vision
“The strategic vision of Tech X is focused on four key areas, which I call the 4A’s of technological advancement; Awareness, Access, Adoption and Application. A key strategy that addresses the issue of low ICT penetration is awareness.
The People factor
“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.
TechX’s focus
“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 countries that have depended on oil as the economic main stay 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”.
Mr. Ojobo further enjoined the ecosystem to join hands and make a difference in the lives of the next generation. “This is a task that we all should play our part. The journey of a thousand miles starts with just one step, but the destination is inevitable God willing”.