E-Business
South East Technology Ecosystem Requires Courageous Investors- Anika
Nnamdi Anika is the managing director, Genesys Tech Hub, by Tenece Professional Services, and a twin-purpose Technology Hub that serves as a talent refinery and innovation incubator for young minds in all technology-driven sectors of the economy, with focus mainly on startup ecosystem in South East, Nigeria.
Located in Tenece’s state-of-the-art Eastern Regional Hub in Enugu, which is designed to support and equip its residents – who are mostly budding entrepreneurs – with sophisticated tools for unearthing the most formidable startups, Genesys Tech Hub represents an oasis of technology in the region. Anika, the managing director, Genesys Tech Hub, Enugu State, in a chat with select technology reporter in lieu of the just concluded GenesysIGNITE, shares the idea behind establishing the Hub. Peter Oluka was there for Nigeria CommunicationsWeek
Can you speak briefly on Genesys Tech Hub’s key focus areas?
Genesys Tech Hub is what we call ideas, creativity and knowledge-based platform. It is designed to drive innovation and productivity in the South East, and Nigeria at large. Our focus is on undergraduates and earlier graduates. The Hub is designed to serve three main purposes; first, it is a centre of learning and development that is tilting towards mitigating the areas of digital divide in this region. In that regard we created- Codename: Learnable. Essentially, it is a six months internship/bootcamp. Most of the participants are drawn from undergraduates who are undergoing internship or Industrial Attachment Training (IT) programme.
The second programme is focused on creating enabling environment for startups. The idea is to expand their horizons, give them access to market and resources that may not be readily at their disposal. In this regard, we created a division called Genesys StartZone. It is simply our incubation programme; where we expose young startups to business mentoring, exposing them to some resources like legal support. The idea, for us, is to make sure that these startups get to a point they are matured to exist and run as independent business.
The third division serves as the nucleus of community of smart-young technology enthusiasts; these are talented individuals who are going to lead the tech revolution in the ecosystem, our region and Nigeria as a whole. That led to the creation of Agora.
How will these programmes and others in the offing help position startups for greater impacts?
The way we are running the system currently and based on the resources at our disposal, we try to take things in bits. We intend to upscale, accommodating as many as possible. We are aware that what we are doing is scratching the surface; there is a lot to be done. But in the last three years we have focused on undergraduates and fresh graduates. This has been the case because we have access to over 19 tertiary institutions based; it is based on our business model which we expect to impact the region even more in few years time.
Why South East? Why Enugu?
From a personal perspective, I grew up in this region. My undergraduate programme was the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), before travelling to London School of Economics for my Master programme. So, from the onset there has been an observation. If you look at the peers around, upon graduation everybody is in a hurry to move to Lagos. For me, I have always thought that economies don’t grow in pockets.
To grow your economy, there must be diversification. Therefore, every region should have niche and create an ecosystem, such that, as people are graduating they can see an area capable of propelling the career. From that perspective, I always thought we need to do something. We can’t all keep running to Lagos.
As I was returning from UK, after my graduation, I had a lot of job offers from Lagos and Abuja. But I decided that I have to be in Enugu; somebody has to be here, working hard to ensure that our people have more opportunities. We have to diversify this economy.
I look at Lagos as an example and I am always like life’s expectancy rate is dropping; people are wake up at odd hours just to overcome traffic hurdles. Now is the time to spread the economy. From that perspective and attraction, I align with the saying ‘charity begins at home’. If you are looking outside Lagos, what comes to mind is the environment where you understand the terrain and the needs.
Then, if you look at Enugu, it has the most tertiary institutions in the regions- both private and public universities. It has the best access; very easy to access Ebonyi State, Anambra, Abia, Imo and others. It is central and it the international airport is a value addition.
It remains the capital of South Eastern region. In terms of infrastructure, you will see that Enugu is also leading in the park. It is the central point to create the Hub. At the end of the day, you intentions can’t be materialised if focused in one direction, but we need to have a base from which we can spread out.
Majority of the young people believe if it is not Lagos then you can’t make it. How is Genesys Tech Hub going to help them change the mind-sets, especially among the undergraduates?
We have started in a number of ways. The idea is to create a platform and enabling environment or a structure that can fertilise ideas (which is why many rush to Lagos). If you have such platform, then, why not stay back here and try it out. We are making this happen through the effort of our parent company Tenece Group. The business environment, especially, in the South East has proven there are a lot of opportunities here. We have over 200 staff in Genesys who may have desired to go to Lagos, searching for job. Genesys is on a pacesetting mission; such that people can observe us and see reasons to stay back here. The first things this Hub shows: it is possible.
The Hub is trying to create a sort of exposure to the undergraduates. There are different ways to build a system- some are meant to follow the system and learn along the way or you can actually create something, make yourself a leader for others to follow.
We have realised that it is doable and we are scaling it up. There are pockets of activities going on in the region requiring aggregation. Such way, key stakeholders gather, discuss the realities and show there is hope for this region by making a spark. That was the basis for GenesysIGNITE.
It was like getting more people to appreciate our startups and create platform for Government and private sector (that is the established technology related OEMs- Google, Microsoft, Nokia, etc.) to add value to what we are doing. Someone has to provoke that thought in these OEMs that there is more to Nigeria than Lagos. That is how we can make technology thrive in this region. We are looking at igniting the whole technological evolution in this region.
What are the intentional steps for a larger scale of conversion and restructuring the South East startup ecosystem?
What I have observed is that, in life, there are different approaches to solving a problem. There are textbook approaches, but the reality is that you can only take one step at a time. It is not easy to change peoples’ perception or make them align with a carefully designed roadmap. The first crucial step is creating a platform for people to understand that this thing can be done here. Create opportunity for them to meet others who have gone similar circle. They (the startup) need to understand why some people failed and other succeeded. Where they government policies that caused this? Is it because Lagos is the commercial city and naturally most things aggregate towards smart city. Are there conscious or deliberate things that the government and private individuals can do to reduce the pressure on Lagos? I have a lot of friends who are eager to come back to Enugu because people are risk averse. So, someone needs to enlighten the startups in the region; you can either be a leader or a follower.
Tenece has set the pace and I can promise you that a lot of organisations are encouraged by the Tenece’s story. The truth is that it is not going to happen in a day, we need to continue to create platform for this discourse and build the necessary infrastructure and systems to be able to impact the region. I was in a conversation with a friend, and he insisted, it is generally difficult to change the mentality of Nigerians.
So, he suggested that as new babies are born we need to create a space and start feeding them with the right information when you are used to a pattern it is usually difficult to break it. Some people are still querying me: guy, what are you doing in Enugu? However, we all recognise there is a problem, thinking or tilting towards the same pattern will not do us any good. We need courageous people, which is the idea behind what we are doing. We can’t run away from empowering our people; create supportive platforms.
Personally, supports shouldn’t always be financial. But the reality is that some people need those things to set up. We are working hard to see that happens. Our people like success stories; they believe in what they see, not visionary in most cases and that is the people. They want to ‘see and touch’ before believing. So, we want people to see that Genesys is not just another outliner. If you think so, what happens to TutorFinder or is it an outliner too? PlayJoor or House of Uwe, are they outliners too?
The GenesysIGNITE has also thought us that we need to get everybody involved. The platform is expanding beyond just ‘Genesys event’. Experience matters, so that they can talk to the young people. On our part, we are determined to back-up anything we say with action, such that the young people will see this is not just the usual talk and go. Daily, I see startups springing up in the South East.
This wasn’t the case about a year ago. To me, what has happened to Nigeria is that our over dependence on oil has exposed us. Today, everybody is sitting back to rethink and be more creative. One artiste sang ‘Owu saa gi, I ga-amalu ihe o’ (meaning, when you are broke, you become smarter). So, sometimes you need to be pushed to the wall. What we are trying to do is to see how we can reduce the gap and the timeline for this change to materialise. We don’t have all the answers, but consciously taking the steps to make things right. People are frustrated, even in Lagos.
How will GensysIGNITE assist in tackling startups waste in the region?
At the end of the day, which is what matters a lot, you can only execute a project as much as your strength can carry you. What we are trying to do is create a spark. With regards those that couldn’t get the $10,000 cash prize at the recent event, all hope is not lost. For instance, after the convergence some people walked up to me asking for database of the startups that pitched. Others said they didn’t hear the about the event on time. You may not believe this, all this was planned within a month. The idea came as a flash.
We just told ourselves there is need to do this. It was an eye opener. If you call for another pitch today, we will receive over 1000 pitches. The recent GenesysIGNITE had 147 pitches and it was due to time constraints; we reduced the number to nine who were exposed to external judges to bring about fairness and harness different opinions. I am a proponent of one step at a time, but make sure that at every second you are making progress. The idea behind IGNITE was to get more venture capitalists, and other interested investors to see that these startups exist and see how they can get involved. The spark will cause many successes among the startup ecosystem.
What are the plans to sustain GenesysIGNITE?
We believe what we have done has actually shown people there are a lot areas seeking solution. We believe people (and the Government) are going to come in and ask where and how to get involved. I remembered the first time I met our CEO, Mr. Kingsley Eze. One of the things that made me to align with him is the passion for the development of young people. Nobody can take this step without the passion. There are lot of people with similar passion but lack ideas on how and where to channel the intentions.
They are looking for structure to channel that. So, this has created the right pulse for stakeholders (government and private sectors) to come together; we are already getting feedbacks. Genesys is lucky to have Tenece as support system, but the truth is that we need more of Teneces to get involved. There are different means through which organisations can add value. As you are dwelling on your passion, a time comes that you need to partner to achieve greater impacts. In fact, during one of sessions after IGNITE, we agreed that a day is not enough for event of such magnitude. But as an inaugural event it served the purpose- to gather passionate people to carve a tech niche for the region. We can make South East one-stop (technology) attraction, not only from the Nigerian perspective, but at the global stage.
What has Genesys Tech Hub has been doing in the last three years of (structural) existence?
When you are engaged in a process, as you process you seek better ways of doing things. We started off with the internship programme. It was designed, not just a technical based training. We have structures for business entering programme. Each session ends with a bootcamp. From the onset the startup will understand they need to start looking at the environment and business ideas selling to the market. Towards the year, we usually have an exhibition where people pitch their ideas. While the pitching sessions are on you see the business sense of certain ideas, then, we go back and think of how to turn this to an acceptable ‘product’.
We also realised there are high techies that are not interested in business. They just want to build things based on latest trends- is it Artificial Intelligence, there are coming up with good ideas, but they are focused on the business side. So, we want to create a business side where these guys are opened to the opportunities. That was how Agora was initiated.
The Agora is still young; StartZone started last year and we have a product launched at the exhibition called ParkShop- which is almost ready to go into the market. It is an auto-spare parts market place. There are other startups showcasing. We have three startups incubating in StartupZone and they all came from the internship programme. Aside in-house instructors, we leverage partnership with OEMs to get other instructors.
How would you assess the quality of undergraduates coming for internship or fresh graduates who seek mentorship?
Truly, the government needs to pay attention to the educational sector. To achieve whatever mileage we desire, as a country, we must pay attention to the deteriorating educational sector. We probably don’t know how bad it is. I understand passion in teaching because as someone who grew up in the university environment I saw how my dad prepared for classes and how he carried the students along. I can’t tell how we lost it! I don’t think you should teach because you are smart, or because it’s the last resort. If you don’t have the passion, don’t get in there.
The passionate teachers don’t end up in the classrooms rather contribute further by engaging in research and development (R&D). The change should start from the basic education and even the way we (parents) teach our children. There is need for a teaching pattern that encourages people to explore their passions. We should stop all this long division, and flogging a child because h/she couldn’t solve a problem. We should deploy education that supports more of practical than theoretical learning.
For instance, when we are looking for basic skills before accepting an applicant, most of them are developed through self-help. Others would go out their way to approach people (in the industry) who have those skills, even when they are students. We must change our facilitators in these schools and revamp the curriculum to give room for productivity.
Do you think Startups (in South East) should focus on software or hardware or both)?
I think the world is changing; the world is gravitating around two things: renewable energy and artificial intelligence. We must make ourselves ready to become a global market in the technology space, specifically on artificial intelligence.
Future Plans for Startups at Genesys Tech Hub
We are looking at building hostels with adequate facilities to create a relaxed environment. Presently, the startups have to move to town, get what they want and come back. But in the next two to three months, the hostels should be ready so that if you are tired you can relax there and come back. This is actually what they want- there are swimming pool, sports centres and other facilities, so they don’t have to go to town before they can enjoy these things. In fact, some of them wouldn’t mind working for whole day, but we have to, at a point, force them to get refreshed.
E-Business
Report Reveals Over Half of Security Experts Overwhelmed Managing Cybersecurity Tools from Multiple Vendors
The majority of companies (78%) surveyed in South Africa and in the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region, rely on multi-vendor ecosystems despite the fact that such fragmented security solutions lead to operational and financial strains. Such findings were revealed in recent Kaspersky research.
A study titled “Improving resilience: Cybersecurity through system immunity,” conducted by Kaspersky, examined how organisations manage cybersecurity today, focusing on vendor fragmentation, operational inefficiencies and future consolidation plans.
The survey was conducted across the META region, as well as in Europe, Russia, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The report provides a comprehensive analysis of the current state of cybersecurity management across organisations, highlighting significant challenges associated with multi-vendor security environments.
The findings reveal that nearly half of security professionals (44%) surveyed in the META region find their security stacks to be overly complex and time-consuming to maintain, which hampers their ability to respond swiftly to emerging threats.
This complexity often results from the use of multiple security solutions from different vendors, each with its own management interface and operational requirements.
Furthermore, 49% of organisations surveyed in the META region experience budget overruns attributable to overlapping solutions.
These redundancies not only inflate costs but also complicate resource allocation and strategic planning. Compatibility issues exacerbate these difficulties as 43% of respondents indicate that they cannot automate security processes effectively because their tools lack proper integration, leading to manual interventions and increased chances of human error.
Additionally, 39% struggle with inconsistent threat visibility, as data collected from various vendors often fails to correlate seamlessly, creating blind spots and reducing overall situational awareness.
Despite these persistent challenges, the majority of organisations continue to operate within multi-vendor environments – 78% in the META region and in South Africa currently manage security across multiple providers.
Interestingly, 43% in META and in South Africa believe that a single cybersecurity provider could sufficiently meet all their needs, suggesting a recognition of the potential benefits of consolidation.
However, only 22% in the META region and 23% in South Africa have adopted a single-vendor approach in practice, reflecting a cautious approach driven by concerns over over-reliance on one supplier or the perceived risks associated with vendor lock-in.
The landscape is rapidly shifting toward consolidation: an overwhelming 88% of firms in the META region and 84% in South Africa are actively moving in this direction, over a third (34% in META and 39% in South Africa) have already begun merging their security tools into unified platforms, while an additional 55% in META and 45% in South Africa plan to do so within the next two years.
This trend underscores a strategic shift toward simplifying cybersecurity operations, reducing costs, and achieving more effective threat management through integrated solutions. As organisations increasingly recognise the advantages of streamlined security architectures, the move toward vendor consolidation is poised to reshape the cybersecurity landscape in the near future.
“The data from our research indicates that many organisations rely on multiple vendors by default, rather than through deliberate strategic planning. While diversification of security solutions can offer certain benefits, such as risk mitigation and coverage breadth, an unchecked increase in complexity often leads to significant resource drain and operational inefficiencies.
Moreover, this complexity can create critical blind spots, making it harder to maintain comprehensive threat visibility and respond effectively to emerging risks.
The emerging trend toward consolidation reflects a maturation in cybersecurity strategies, emphasising the adoption of integrated platforms that streamline management, reduce manual effort, and enhance overall visibility into security posture,” said Ilya Markelov, Head of Unified Platform product line at Kaspersky.
To enable comprehensive protection of all business assets and processes, Kaspersky experts recommend to use centralised and automated solutions such as Kaspersky Next XDR Expert.
By aggregating and correlating data from multiple sources in one place and using machine-learning technologies, this solution provides effective threat detection and fast automated response. Out-of-the-box integrations, automation features and case management help make infrastructure complexity much less of an issue.
Africa has been urged to fast-track the development of Artificial intelligence (AI) skill to benefit from its economic value. AI could contribute $1.5 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030 if the continent secures 10% of the global AI market, according to SAP, which sourced the statistic from online media.
However, a shortage of AI talent, with the need to retain cyber security and cloud skills, threatens to block opportunities to monetise growth.
This is part of a report released by SAP: ‘Africa’s AI Skills Readiness Revealed’, which reveals that African organisations are rushing to enhance their traditional IT skills base in the wake of accelerating adoption of AI.
The report adds that while 94% of organisations offer monthly AI training, none currently allocate more than 10% of their HR or IT budgets to skills development, a sharp decline from 2022.
Genevieve Koolen, HR director at SAP Africa, said: “There is a near-universal need for AI-related skills among African companies this year. Since traditional IT skills such as cloud and cyber security related competencies remain in high demand, companies now face the dual challenge of attracting and retaining traditional tech talent while also building greater AI competencies within their businesses. It is unsurprising then that most African organisations provide career development opportunities for employees with AI specialisations.”
The report reveals that all companies surveyed expect the demand for AI skills to increase in 2025. Nearly half said they expect a ‘significant’ increase.
Koolen added that while there is an urgent need for policymakers and education institutions to fast-track AI skills development initiatives among Africa’s swelling youth population, companies also face pressure to equip existing workers with future-ready skills.
“Thirty-eight percent of companies surveyed said reskilling of employees is a top skills-related challenge for them in 2025, and nearly half said the same of upskilling. The impact of these changes creates its own challenges, as evidenced by the two-thirds of companies that said helping employees understand why reskilling is necessary is a top priority.”
Research also showed that African organisations are alive to the possibilities presented by AI-related innovation, with companies citing perceived value in improved decision-making (64%), marketing capabilities (51%) and innovation (47%) enabled by AI.
However, poor access to AI-ready skills is already causing negative impacts among the same companies, including failed innovation initiatives, delays completing projects, greater pressure on teams and an inability to take on new client projects.
“Organisations are rising to this challenge by increasing the frequency of training offered to employees, with 94% saying they offer training at least monthly,” said Koolen.
However, the latest data indicates a drop in the allocated budget for skills development.
In a previous survey conducted in 2022, a quarter of organisations said they spend more than 15% of their HR or IT budgets on skills development and training. This year, not a single organisation that formed part of the research spent more than 10%.
SAP lists several measures that companies can implement to ensure they cultivate the correct skills mix:
Be prepared: With universal demand for tech and AI-related skills and an ongoing skills scarcity, African organisations must prepare for a shortfall in critical AI-related skills this year.
“The moment calls for a pragmatic approach that combines longer-term skills development – including reskilling and upskilling – with short-term measures that alleviate some of the immediate pressures and creates space for more robust skills development initiatives. Organisations also need to take care to support employees through this uncertain period, for example, by using human capital management technologies that help HR teams identify concerns.”
Prioritise training: Koolen said it is surprising that budget allocations for training and skills development appear to be shrinking. “Too many digital transformation and innovation initiatives fail to deliver the expected business value due to a lack of appropriate skills.
“In light of the rapid pace of technological advancement, any organisation that fails to invest in skills will likely find they are unprepared and unable to leverage new innovations. In time, this will erode their competitiveness and lead to significant impacts to the bottom line.”
Instead, organisations should place skills development at the core of their business strategies to ensure a steady stream of work-ready talent and invest sufficient budget to guarantee high-quality outcomes for employees and the business.
Partner well: While Africa has the fastest-growing youth population of any continent, there are still significant systemic challenges with equipping youth with adequate work-ready skills.
“Africa’s ability to reap the benefits of AI-related innovation rests on broader public-private sector efforts at cultivating the correct skills mix,” said Koolen. “Partnering with educational institutions and other industry skills development initiatives can accelerate the rate at which skills become available to companies.”
She added that technology vendors can also play a valuable role. “Large technology companies often have large global workforces and strong employer brands, allowing them to attract top talent. Partnering with tech venters can augment organisations’ skills base and provide valuable support to AI-led initiatives.”
Google has outlined a wave of AI support across Africa, representing $37 million in cumulative funding — including previously committed but unannounced funding — to research, talent development, and infrastructure.
The funding package includes funding and partnerships that aim to strengthen AI research, support African languages, improve food systems, expand digital skills, and build research capacity.
The AI Collaborative for Food Security, a multi-partner initiative launched with $25 million in funding from Google.org will bring together researchers, and nonprofit organizations to co-develop AI tools for early hunger forecasting, crop resilience, and tailored guidance for smallholder farmers.
The goal is to help make food systems across Africa more adaptive, equitable, and resilient in the face of increasing climate and economic shocks.
Google also announced $3 million in funding to the Masakhane Research Foundation, the open research collective advancing AI tools in over 40 African languages.
The funding will support the development of high-quality datasets, machine translation models, and speech tools that make digital content more accessible to millions of Africans in their native languages.
To further empower innovation, Google is launching a catalytic funding initiative to support AI-driven startups tackling real-world challenges.
This platform will combine philanthropic capital, venture investment, and Google’s technical expertise to help more than 100 early-stage ventures scale AI-based solutions in agriculture, healthcare, education, and other vital sectors.
Startups will also receive mentorship, access to tools, and technical guidance to support responsible development.
Africa’s AI talent is growing rapidly, but the infrastructure to support it must grow in tandem.
That’s why a cornerstone of this announcement is the launch of the AI Community Center in Accra — a first-of-its-kind space for AI learning, experimentation, and collaboration in Africa.
The Center will host training sessions, community events, and workshops focused on responsible AI development. Its programming will span four pillars: AI literacy, community technology, social impact, and arts and culture — providing a platform for a diverse ecosystem of developers, students, and creators to engage with AI in ways that are grounded in African priorities.
To help meet the rising demand for AI and digital skills, Google is rolling out 100,000 Google Career Certificate scholarships for students in higher learning institutions across Ghana.
These fully funded, self-paced programs will focus on AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, and other high-growth fields like IT Support, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity — enabling more learners to access job-ready training and build careers in AI and the digital economy.
Beyond Ghana, Google.org is committing an additional $7 million to support AI education across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana.
The funding will support academic institutions and nonprofits building localized AI curricula, online safety training, and cybersecurity programs.
Additionally, two new $1 million grants from Google.org aim to bolster AI research capacity across the continent.
One grant goes to the African Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AfriDSAI) at the University of Pretoria to support applied AI research and training.
The other supports the Wits Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute in South Africa, which will fund MSc and PhD students to conduct foundational AI research and help shape Africa’s role in the global AI landscape.
Speaking about the announcements, James Manyika, senior vice president for Research, Labs, and Technology & Society at Google, said: “Africa is home to some of the most important and inspiring work in AI today. We are committed to supporting the next wave of innovation through long-term investment, local partnerships, and platforms that help researchers and entrepreneurs build solutions that matter.”
Yossi Matias, vice president of Engineering and Research at Google, added: “This new wave of support reflects our belief in the talent, creativity, and ingenuity across the continent. By building with local communities and institutions, we’re supporting solutions that are rooted in Africa’s realities and built for global impact.”
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