Tech talent in Port Harcourt — A wake up call
There are a surprisingly good number of professional and expert developers in Port Harcourt. I’ve been part of the Port Harcourt tech and startup ecosystem (please let’s not get into the debate of whether or not there really exist an ecosystem) for only about 2 years now. And I’ve heard about, and met a handful of great developers and software engineers (yes, I mean Software Engineers).
There’s been a problem however: Visibility. There’s no platform for these great and wonderful fellows to connect, interact, network and train younger ones. There are what I prefer to call clusters but no consortium exists to drive engagement amongst these clusters. But that’s just one manifestation of the visibility problem.
Another area this problem of visibility rears it’s very “un-beautiful” head is in business/job attraction. I’m tired of people getting surprised at what I can do “in Port Harcourt” (as if nothing good can come out of Bethlehem, I mean, Port Harcourt). And to think that there are folks with even more magical skills here! An unfortunate consequence of this problem is that most local businesses 1) do not think first to patronize local tech solution providers and/or 2) do not have confidence in what we can do here! SMH.
Not surprisingly though, a lot of us developers, startup founders and entrepreneurs are bothered with this visibility issue and have independently sort ways to address the challenge.
This was what brought some developers from a number of tech communities (the Google Developer Group, Microsoft User Group, PH Dev Connect and others — new and pro alike) and startup founders together on Saturday June 24, 2017.
The meetup was a follow up of a conversation on the GDG PH whatsapp group around the topic of boosting tech visibility in the region. Although the initial conversation was geared towards the organization of a pivotal tech event, the discussion that ensued at the meeting exposed other avenues to help us achieve our goals.
But first. What is the goal? “Why do we need an event?”, asked Sokari Gillis-Harry, founder of Mabiri, a startup that helps shoppers find and purchase items from shops around them.
Joshua Joshua, a Microsoft Student Partner and the face behind most Microsoft-related happenings in the South South region of Nigeria, hinted at the need for consolidating the fragmented tech ecosystem in Port Harcourt. In one of his comments, Joshua suggested that we hold a round table meeting of key tech figures in as many tech clusters in Port Harcourt.
Blessing Anthony, an upcoming developer recommended that provisions be made to accommodate the younger, less experienced breed of developers; to assist them in their quest to becoming world class. Her comments exposed the need to constructively engage younger developers in our plans.
Lawrence Agbani, a Software Engineer at Konga proposed that we organize an hackathon, that could span days, possibly a week; at the end of which, we invite businesses together and demonstrate the works of our hands in a bid to redirect the focus of Port Harcourt businesses towards home-grown tech talent.
These and other thoughts that were aired during the meeting were discussed at length. All in attendance agreed that our common goal should be to
- Consolidate the different clusters of developers — newbies and pros
- Attract the attention of local businesses towards home-grown tech talent
With that consensus, our convergence acquired direction. We know what we want to do, what we will like to see happen. What next?
Wisdom Arerosuoghene of Rudigo Limited , a programming talent accelerator and incubator suggested that we return to our various destinations and clusters; and think of ways we can achieve our common objectives. We recognize that there is no simple solution; there is not necessarily a right or wrong approach; and others have been down this road with limited success. We also know that as individuals and groups, some of us had given thoughts to these challenges and have concocted possible redresses.
TAKE HOME: Everyone in attendance was encouraged to ponder over what was discussed and send in their ideas on how best they think we can accomplish our goals. Such suggestions would be most appreciated if the sender goes further than just dropping his suggestion. Including the rationales behind each proposal, the perceived pros and cons of each suggestion will better equip us all to think along with the sender and better appreciate how the suggestion helps to address our goals.
A web/mobile platform is currently being designed by volunteers, for this purpose; to enable us share thoughts and ideas virtually till we next converge. If you’d like to be added to this brainstorming arrangement, please drop a comment below or send an email to wisdom@rudigo.com or danitto88@gmail.com.
I’ll update this article with links to progress reports as we continue this journey.
