On Soludo’s aggressive development of the tech ecosystem in Anambra

The just concluded Anambra Innovation Week brought to the fore the massive success which has been achieved in developing a relationship amongst different entities in the tech industry – this includes start-ups, businesses, universities, tech hubs, developers and accelerators – in the last 30 months in Anambra State.

The co-founder of AI in Nigeria, Ehia Erhaboh, shared his organizations experience in creating AI Community Hubs in Nigeria and his amazing experience of Anambra’s tech ecosystem.

“…with AI in Nigeria, we have been creating a lot of start-up hubs in Nigeria – AI community hubs in different states. We had an experience when we set-up Anambra Community Hub. In less than 24 hours, when we set-up that hub, the level of activity that we saw was something we have never experienced anywhere else and I sent Chinwe [the vibrant Special Adviser to Governor Chukwuma Soludo on Innovation] a message to say Chinwe you may not understand what you are doing in Anambra but we are definitely seeing the impact of what you are doing’’, Ehia Erhaboh remarked in the just concluded Anambra Innovation Week.

What Ehia Erhaboh observed about the tech ecosystem in Anambra did not happen bychance. In the last 30 months, the Solution Innovation District (SID), in conjunction with partners, has trained over 50,000 young people in an aggressive up-skilling programme, christened ‘’Code Anambra’’. The trainings range from Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics,cloud computing, app development to blockchain technology. The vision is to create a pool of developers and techies that would build an African Silicon Valley and talents that areexportable. Governor Soludo is very intentional about this.

Other participants in the just concluded Anambra Innovation Week remarked that some basic infrastructure Anambra is putting on ground would aid tech development in Anambra – if not the whole of the south east. Sade Dada, head of public policy, Anglophone West Africa and Connectivity and Innovation Policy Manager, Africa at Meta Platforms Inc, reiterated the mileage Anambra would have with its aggressive development of fibre optics infrastructure in the state. This, from her experience, is part of the key infrastructure that powers innovation and development in the tech ecosystem. (Meta Platforms is an American multinational technology conglomerate based in California and the company owns Facebook, Instagram, Threads, WhatsApp and other technology products).

Anambra Innovation Week created an avenue where young people in Anambra could meet various giants and accelerators in the tech industry in Africa.

The enthusiasm the Solution Innovation District (SID) has created amongst young people in Anambra is infectious. Primary, secondary and university students showcased different inventions and research which they had carried out in the last few months in the just concluded Anambra Innovation Week. Various Nigerian researchers and inventors were rewarded with various cash awards and gadgets at the summit. This gesture goes a long way to encourage youths in technology to do more. There is no doubt that in the coming years many young people would look forward to this innovation summit and these awards. Who knows if it would become the Noble Prize of Anambra as it regards innovation in the coming years.

The development of the tech ecosystem rubs off on Anambra’s education system. Students from primary and secondary schools, who had distinguished themselves in tech, had opportunities to have handshakes with Governor Soludo. For many of these kids, this momentous event and experience with Governor Soludo will mark the beginning of their journey in the tech world. Some of those kids who shook the Governor’s hand could be Nigeria’s next Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg.

The vision is to make Anambra a tech capital in Africa and it does not really matter if some cities like Lagos and Nairobi already have some mileage in terms of tech in Africa.

In the coming months, a befitting Innovation District, which is being developed in 13 hectares of land, would come on board. This Innovation District will create an environment where techies can come together and develop commercial hardware and software products. The UNDP has already seen Anambra’s tech vision and has keyed into the state’s tech ecosystem with the ground breaking of its Makerspace facility in Awka. The grand vision is to create tech unicorns from Anambra. The multiplier effect of Governor Soludo’s investment in technology would be enormous. The GDP of Anambra would be positively impacted. (A tech unicorn is a private start–up company that is worth more than $1 billion).

This point has to be made: the greatest assets of rich countries without natural resources are its human resources and capital. Governor Soludo is aggressively developing Anambra’s human capital through various government skillacquisition trainings. Governor Soludo believes that technology and innovation will define Anambra’s future.

The special adviser on innovation, Chinwe Okoli, is doing a great job in bringing Governor Soludo’s vision in the tech space to the fore. She deserves accolades for bringing tech icons in Nigeria to inspire our young techies in Anambrabetween the 25th of November to the 29th of November.

The future of Anambra is very bright under Governor Soludo’s watch. Governor Soludo’s investment in the tech ecosystem will be remembered in many years to come, especially when these young techies start exploring Africa!

Nwankwo is the special adviser to Governor Soludo on special projects.