The power of focus and community engagement in creating solutions and making things happen should never be underestimated. The passion and determination that burned in the hearts of several young people led to the different innovative ideas and concepts which drove the campaign for the present Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. There is something daring about the spirit of youths that the older generation can only be nostalgic about because they were once like that.
In a bid to preserve the memories and legacy that birth such feat, the campaign office has been turned into a tech hub where young people can develop ideas. At the core of this, is the role technology plays in creating solutions and paving ways in this century.
Just last weekend, the Lagos State Government inaugurated the Eko Innovative Centre for the incubation of startups. Speaking on the occasion, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said he planned to use technology to drive the state’s economic growth by creating smart economies with technology-driven innovative solutions. He said this will create new jobs that previously never existed, adding that this is the goal of his administration. He further stated that:
“Technology is the way to go, it is the way of the future and it is the way the entire universe is going and everybody is using technology to develop everything that they need.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor
“We believe that from here, things around the THEME concept that has to do with the environment, education, transportation and health innovations would be developed. People from here would come and give us innovative ideas to solve our transportation and other problems.”
Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Speaking on the motivation behind the technology hub, the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the centre, Victor Afolabi said:
“The motivation was the need to create an enabling environment for young people to develop innovative solutions and create employment while leveraging on technology”.
Victor Afolabi , Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Eko Innovative Centre
He pointed out that most of the existing technology centres and hubs in the state primarily provide workspaces and basic facilities such as power and internet services, with a few providing support platforms for the growth of the startups. The difference Eko Innovation Centre is bringing is its design not just to add to the growing figures of local tech hubs, but to provide a much-required platform for startups to scale through the challenges of their incubation period and provide opportunities for collaborations and building support structures that are important to the growth of new startups.
Since one of the manifestos of the state is to make the state the 21st-century economy, one of the ways to achieve this is to create businesses and solution to problems that are driven by innovation and technology. Based on this perspective of keeping up with the fast-growing paradigm of technology-driven economies, the innovation centre will serve as a springboard for discovering, incubating and curating new startups that will create new technological-driven solutions and add more value to an already growing tech ecosystem on the continent.
SOURCES: Press Reader
The Nation Online
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