Adopt new technologies to grow economy, MainOne boss charges Nigerians

The Chief Executive Officer of MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke, has underlined the need for businesses in Nigeria to adopt new technologies to avoid falling behind the rest of the world in technological advancement.

Opeke made this known at MainOne’s annual tech conference, Nerds Unite, which took place recently in Lagos with the theme, ‘Accelerating Digital Transformation.’

Nerds Unite 2019, hosted mid-level & top level Information and Communications Technology (ICT) executives, start-up innovators and ICT enthusiasts, who discussed emerging trends in the ICT industry and how they affect Nigeria and Africa.

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The event featured ICT specialists including Toby Shapshak, ICT journalist and thought leader, Libby Barr; Chief Executive Officer, Avanti Communications, Obinna Ekezie; Chief Operating Officer, Wakanow, Ife Oyedele; Chief Executive Officer, Kobo 360, Deji Balogun; and Chief Operating Officer, Terragon Group, among others.

At the event, ICT experts discussed the importance of applying technology to every facets of life in line with digital transformation agenda of the Federal Government.

The keynote speaker at the event, Toby Shapshak, highlighted reasons why a connected Africa is way to move the continent forward. He pointed out the peculiar situation of Africa and why it is important for Africa to utilise her strength, innovate and catch up with the rest of the world.

The first session, which was entitled, “Connecting the Next Billion to the Internet and Beyond to Transform the Face of Africa,” was moderated by Shapshak. The speakers for this session included Libby Barr, Chief Operating Officer of Avanti Comm. and Opeke, who tackled connectivity in Africa and the use of connectivity and technology to drive development in Nigeria.

According to Opeke: “A connected Nigeria is a more economically prosperous Nigeria. It is a better educated Nigeria, it is a Nigeria where access to social services and health services are able to reach more of our population which in itself adds to more prosperity for Nigeria.”

She added that the opportunity to use technology to drive economic development is the vision of what ‘we have for a connected Nigeria’.

During a panel discussion on ‘how AI can revolutionise your business model and create new revenue streams,’ Bayo Adekanmbi, Chief Transformation Officer at MTN Nigeria, said that there is more to gain from artificial intelligence than there is to lose, and that man would have to adapt to leverage these gains.

This session was chaired by Dr Olayinka David-West of the Lagos Business School, with Bayo Adekanmbi, Chief Transformation Officer at MTN; Deji Balogun, CTO Terragon Group; and Ernest Terry, from Flutterwave as panelists.