Reports have it that China incubates thousands of Startups, with new ideas, everyday. The likely goal of such a policy is to ensure that, people within the Chinese economy, with good ideas, will be supported to take such ideas to the market.
In the case of Nigeria, only a few hundred start-ups get incubated annually, with many of them, not seeing the light of day, due to issues, such as, lack of funding, poor infrastructure, weak curriculum and the like. Innovation hubs are meant to bridge this gap and ensure that start-ups are supported with resources to get them to the market.
I recently had a chat with Ifedy Eze, COO, Techx Innovation Hub and he shared his views on issues on technology start-ups and the growth of the ecosystem in general, on Tech Trends on Channels Television.
CFA: What has been the impact of technology on us, as a people?
Ifedy: Across all sectors of our national life, technology has transformed the way that we live. You think about social media. People interact better now. People can have conversations, even though, they are not physically present and again, social media has made it easy for small businesses, to be able to advertise their products and make transactions.
There are a lot of business transactions that go on social media, everyday and again, you see how Fintech solutions, have helped to transform financial transactions, all across the country. People who previously did not have access to some financial products and services are now able, to transact business. Even, in the Agricultural sector, there is an increase, in the number of investments and the activities that happens in that sector because, again, technology has transformed the way Agriculture is done.
People can be in the comfort of their offices, or, their homes, invest in Agricultural projects, without having physically, to be present.
CFA: Nigeria is said to be a country with a lot of potentials. How can we harness some of these potentials, using technology?
Ifedy: The conversation about potentials, I like to re-word, so, instead of talking about potentials, we talk about challenges because, really, the potentials we have in this country, lies in the challenges that we face. People complain about infrastructure, they complain about bad roads, they complain about inability to access credit, etc. All of these things present potentials for business and for improved living. Technology is the only way that we can begin to solve these problems, in a sustainable manner and in a very scalable manner.………..
You can view the full interview here.
