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admin Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat has expressed the government’s readiness to host the GITEX Nigeria conference in September 2025.
He said the government and indeed the entire technology ecosystem would be very receptive to the coming of the global tech show to the country, ‘especially Lagos, where tech and innovation have found a good ground in Africa’.
Hamzat spoke during a meeting with Trixie LohMirmand, the Chief Executive Officer of Kaoun International, in the Lagos Pavilion at the ongoing GITEX 2024 in Dubai, UAE.
‘There could not have been a better time for the tech world to make its presence felt in Africa, particularly Nigeria, than now when the country is experiencing an upsurge in the growth of technology and innovation talent’, Hamzat noted.
According to him, the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration is deliberate in its decision to make technology the driving force behind more of the state’s development programmes.
He said: “Lagos, for example, holds the ‘Art of Technology (AoT) conference which is now in its fifth year. With the AoT, a lot of young entrepreneurs in the IT and innovation space have been discovered, and many of them now run as businesses, with its attendant effect on our economy and the entire ecosystem.
“Another great thing that we’ve discovered is that the number of young entrepreneurs in Lagos State is unbelievable. And, like you said, we can’t bring everybody here to Dubai. So, bringing GITEX to Lagos is very good; it will allow even other countries to see what is possible because the news that we get out there is not real.”
The deputy governor added that the young innovators in Lagos are already creating real solutions, saying their creations are solving real-life problems and are helping their immediate families, friends, and communities.
“There are 10 and 12 year-olds and all they do is coding because they want to help their parents sell their products and services. We are therefore more than happy to host an event of this nature that would help to connect these talents that we have in abundance to the countless opportunities out here.
“We have pockets of knowledge in our state. The question for us is how do we exploe it, how do we actually make it out there, and then allow people to benefit? The creators also need to benefit from their thinking. So, my hope is that GITEX Nigeria can do that for us when you are able to bring all these young people from different areas.
“I know it is technology, but how do we take it to entertainment? Entertainment is big in Nigeria; the creative industry is the next oil as far as we are concerned, and that is why we are investing heavily in that sector,” Hamzat said.
LohMirmand said: “Technology is a necessity and not a luxury, and the world needs it for survival.”
According to her, the last time she visited Nigeria, she and her team saw young Nigerians who ‘sat in a small room with systems on their laps doing great things’.
LohMirmand, whose company organises GITEX Global, said they are committed to discovering new partners and connecting Nigeria to untapped opportunities in the technology space.
She said: “That is our role. We will need a lot of support from your government in terms of logistics and security for us to organise a good show in Lagos, Nigeria.”
GITEX, the biggest technology showpiece in the world, connects people with industry leaders from big tech, global governments, innovative startups, expert investors, and corporate buyers. It is a computer expo held annually at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates.
The event underpins the rapid technology-driven transformations, investments, and projects shaping the economies of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
