PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC), a giant in the consultancy industry in a bid to improve its services and drive technological advancement across Africa has established an experience center with state of the art equipment in Lagos, the first of its kind among other consulting firms.
While analysts have reiterated over the years the effect of technology in driving growth, Nigeria still seem to depend largely on proceeds from the oil and gas sector of the economy to drive growth.
Speaking at the unveiling of PwC’s newest Experience Centre in Lagos, Nigeria’s Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo stated that Nigeria needs to diversify from the oil and gas sector and join the trend of digitalization adding that Nigeria’s economic breakthrough would be driven by technological innovation not oil and gas.
Osinbajo, who was represented by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, said the center is in line with the present administration’s plan to improve the ease of doing business, transform the economy and boost technology adoption.
“The PwC Experience Centre is in line with the smart technology initiative of the government. As an administration, we recognize that Nigeria’s future does not lie in oil and gas but more in technology and innovation. This is anchored on moving the economy away from a resource-based to a people-based model. We must take this seriously going forward,” Osinbajo said.
Also present was Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos state who commended the move of PwC towards technological advancement. “I think the PwC initiative is the way to go. It is in line with what Lagos state government is doing to boost the economy. I encourage other companies to see it as a challenge and begin to tap into the opportunities the government is creating” Sanwo-Olu said.
Also, Sanwo-Olu, who took out time to experiment with the virtual reality solution of the center, stated that the center reflects the state government’s plan to transform the city’s economy with smart solutions. He charged other corporate entities to take a cue from PwC and take advantage of the government’s technology agenda.
Jim Ovia, chairman of Zenith Bank urged those present to catch up with global standards of technology and utilize the amazing opportunities it has to offer.
According to him, the PwC Experience Centre is a product of new thinking, and that the company has again demonstrated its leadership role through the initiative. “Nigerian businesses stand a chance to triple their growth rate and earnings through innovation and technology. The options are to “innovate and transform or die”, Ovia said.
Speaking on the innovation, Regional Senior Partner, PwC West Africa, Uyi Akpata said, “The Centre, the first of its kind by a professional services firm in West Africa combines creativity, research, existing knowledge and strategic insight with a new structured way of solving problems.”
“This unique, modular, flexible concept supports PwC’s clients’ teams in exploring, designing and building user-centric solutions, ranging from re-imagining customer experiences to fully transforming business models and creating new eco-systems. The use of emerging technologies is pivotal to this designing process, ” he added.
The Experience Centre which is an important part of a broader drive to transform PwC’s engagement with clients, “our people and our community to re-imagine the possibility in a fast changing and competitive market.”
The Centre is said to drive PwC’s thinking around disruption and emerging technologies.
Moreso, It will provide a platform to support clients, co-create solutions that meet today and future business challenges. “It will also allow us experiment from prototypes, simulate scenarios, see how it’s going to work, test it and see that they meet the needs of the client and the market,” Akpata explained.
Femi Osinubi, Partner and Experience Centre Leader, PwC West Africa, noted, “At the PwC Experience Centre, we balance business understanding with technology innovation and human insights. Simply put, we are harnessing the power of intelligent digital and we will be asking the tough questions. We will not just be solving client problems; we will actually be building entirely new businesses, whole new platforms that have not been considered before. We shall draw out value within the market in areas where we can combine Business, Technology and Experience but underpinned by deep customer insights.”
The PwC Experience Centre in Lagos is the newest member of a growing family of over 30 Experience Centres owned by the leading global professional services worldwide with a shared goal to foster innovation to create products and services that delight customers. Currently, there are over 2300 passionate thinkers and doers in the PwC Experience Centers around the world.
David Ibidapo
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