Fola Olatunji-David, the technical adviser to Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy, has emphasised the importance of creating programmes and policies to support entrepreneurs in their efforts to drive technology transformation across Africa.
He said this during the Digital Innovation & Creative Excellence (D.I.C.E) event, which had the theme “Solve for Africa: co-creating a tech-enabled future.”
The event was organised by Beyond Limits in collaboration with key stakeholders in the tech, business, and creative sectors, aiming to bridge knowledge gaps, spark collective action, and empower Africa’s burgeoning tech community.
“Innovation happens in communities. It is good we have initiatives like this where players in the technology ecosystem can come together to meet people they read about and only see on the internet; I like that this programme has a good mix of established stakeholders in the industry, people who are just coming, and those still finding their way around. Consistency is key in this kind of thing because they don’t know whose career they’re changing,” Olatunji-David said.
Juliet Ehimuan, the convener of DICE and founder of Beyond Limits, in her speech, stressed the need for collective effort, innovation, and synergy among diverse stakeholders in the African tech space.
“We are at the cusp of a technological revolution in Africa. Harnessing this potential requires collective effort, innovation, and synergy among diverse stakeholders,” she stated.
She highlighted the growth of the tech industry in Africa, noting, “We’ve gone from being focused on trying to set up local area networks, trying to get small and medium businesses online, and teaching people how to digitize content to actually having world-class companies in sectors like e-commerce, FinTech, agritech, edutech, and health tech.”
Read also: Africa needs initiatives to encourage private entrepreneurship – Mohammed VI
The event also featured insights from industry leaders, including Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, former managing director of Flutterwave, who urged entrepreneurs and industry members to tackle substantial challenges, saying, “Find the biggest problem you can and solve it.”
Damilola Olokesusi, co-founder and CEO of Shuttlers, stressed the significance of prioritising customers over investors for entrepreneurs and industry participants.
The D.I.C.E event brought together a diverse group of tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and innovators, signifying the momentum and drive for a tech-enabled future in Africa.j
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
