Data Science Nigeria (DSN) has successfully hosted the first ever Big Data Economy Summit, an event which preceded a four-day Boot Camp where passionate Nigerians numbering 150 were equipped with first-hand knowledge in Data Science and Machine Learning.
With Data Science as the sexiest job in demand, according to Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, DSN is strategically positioning Nigerians to take full advantage of the trend which would lessen the rate of unemployment in the country.
“Some organizations do not even understand that they need data scientist, and unfortunately this subject is not even discussed in the boardroom”, Olumide Olayinka, Partner and Head, Risk, Innovation and Data Analytics, KPMG said during his lecture on “Industry Perspective: Practical Application in Business and Government” at the summit.
He said the unexpressed demand for data scientists is exceptionally high, while expressed demand remains low, arguing that this subject is worthy of discussion in the boardroom.
“Most organizations need data scientist but do not know that they need them. It is therefore incumbent on us to make sure companies start having those discussions.”
Having worked with all the indigenous banks, Olumide lamented that there is still a paucity of data in Nigeria with emphasis on some of the banks that do not have valid data about their customers.
He argued that no indigenous bank to have its customer KYC is intact, emphasizing that some of these things are so basic and Nigeria is still struggling to get small data let alone of big data.
“Let me give you a practical example because am a practitioner and I have worked with all the banks. If you ask a bank today, do you know your recovery rate of any collateral? I bet you that no indigenous bank can provide that information.” he said.
Continuing he said: “KPMG did work for a Nigerian bank on how the bank scores their retail loans.
Unfortunately, there was no data for us to do the statistical analyses. We had to use expert judgment and this is a problem that we need to address, however, the boot camp remains a good initiative,” he said.
In an interview, Bayo Adekambi, the convener of the first ever Big Data Economy Summit in Nigeria said, cumulatively, DSN has trained over 10, 000 Nigeria in Data Science backed up with excellent testimonies.
He said this year’s boot camp had about 150 beneficiaries, stating emphatically how the DSN initiative will provide a landing for Nigeria to leapfrog.
“Nigeria needs to leapfrog in this segment as a country, that’s why we are investing a lot in capacity building through our boot camp which kicked of immediately the summit.
“At DSN, we believe by investing in capacity a sufficient knowledge based is built, and this would allow us to compete globally, especially knowing that data science is the number career in the world, adding so much value from an outsourcing perspective,” he said.
James Agada, Managing Director, Computer Warehouse Group expressed that while data could be monetized, but the critical factor remains to make critical decisions that would result in better policies.
“The critical thing is not the monetization of data, rather making important decisions based on the data that is available. The more information we have, the less the uncertainty, by implication the more information you have, the better the decision.
What is imperative is for us as a country to start making better decisions. People with data are making better choices rather than a decision based on feelings and sentiments.
For instance, you want to build a road what data do you have? Who lives there, how many cars pass there? What would be the economic impacts? If you build the road, it’s not going to make impact because you don’t have data.
