The imperative for developing the digital economy at the sub-national level.
A transcript of remarks I had the privilege of delivering at the Induction Ceremony for new and returning governors as organized by the Nigeria Governors Forum on 29th April 2019 in Abuja Nigeria.
The Chairman of this panel and Senate president, your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It’s such an honor to be on this stage today with Nigerian and US political Leaders.
I’d like to thank the former Governor of the Sate of Maryland, Martin O’Malley, for making a spirited case for technology and innovation in governance, especially because I am here today to push the case for a key focus on the youth and the digital economy as a major priority of your governance agendas.
I have the rare privilege of leading a team of young change agents at Ventures Platform.
At Ventures Platform, we believe that the future of Nigeria and indeed Africa will be built by entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs (intrapreneurship is the act of behaving like an entrepreneur while working within a large organization.) that leverage technology, innovation and the power of their minds.
We are betting on human capital over any other form of capital.
Your excellencies, today about 10M Nigerian youths are out of work. An even larger number are poorly employed. All over Nigeria, we are seeing a sharp increase in depression and suicide rates amongst young people. There is a growing sense of hopelessness and more than ever before young people are being lured into crime and terrorism.
At the same time, today, we have an incredible opportunity in what the digital economy presents.
Already Nigeria’s tech industry is worth over $2 billion. Companies like Paystack and Andela are enabling new sectors. Nigerian software developers make up the fourth fastest growing developer community on the Github platform. Daily, Nigerian software developers are being poached by global companies. We know of software engineers in some of your states that earn up to 5,000 USD monthly — working remotely without leaving Nigeria. In 2018, Nigerian startups raised $178 million in foreign and local investment. For the 1st quarter of 2019 alone, that number has crossed the $150 million mark, all this in spite of government and the many challenge we face.
I submit that any state that focuses on harnessing it’s youth population and the opportunities presented by this new economy will reap huge dividends.
For instance, in Kaduna State working with the state government we are currently rolling out a program called Click-On Kaduna and the reception has been impressive. In Lagos State, the work of LSETF has yielded tremendous results. All over Nigeria, hubs, angel investors and other players are collaborating and showing good progress as they support the growth of this new economy.
But we are not doing nearly enough. There is so much more to be done, especially around capacity building, policy reform, unlocking investment as well as attracting industry. States urgently need to debunk right of way requirements that are obstructing the spread of fibre infrastructure.
And we must do all of this quickly, because neighboring countries like Ghana and Rwanda are already overtaking us and attracting investment.
Your excellencies, I am certain that while campaigning you have all made copious promises to create jobs. Please make the digital economy a priority sector!
Digital jobs tend to pay better wages and can influence culture positively.
More importantly, the digital economy and leveraging innovation is an effective way to tackle non-consumption, create new markets and enable other sectors.
I strongly recommend all the Governors here today read a very important new book called; The Prosperity Paradox written by a Nigerian — Efosa Ojomo and Professor Clayton of the Harvard Business School — to learn more about the power of market creating innovations that can sometimes be digital.
As a matter of urgency and legacy, I strongly urge all Governors here to prioritize the digital economy.
My time is far spent, so I will rest my case here.
Thank you.
