As part of its goal of promoting digital literacy in Nigeria, Zarttech has held its yearly Zarttalent Summit aimed at empowering young people to take up and explore opportunities inherent in the Technology sector.

Group picture of participants at the Zarttalent Summit held on Thursday in Lagos.

This year’s summit themed: “How To Win With Tech” was held at the firm’s brand-new state of the art office located at Ago Palace Way, Okota, Lagos.

Mr. Nelson Ajulo, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zarttech, speaking at the event said that the aim of the summit is to help young Nigerians acquire digital skills needed to become self-reliant as well as give them the opportunity to compete favourably with their contemporaries in the global tech ecosystem.

According to him, the summit is part of Zarttech’s ongoing commitment to driving social impact and fostering innovation among Nigerian youth, with the purpose to catch them young.

He said that the programme in its fifth year is to create awareness on the future of labour force in Nigeria and globally.

“And part of the biggest problem that I have seen within the Nigerian economy, also for my PhD research is that these children or the average Nigerian, does not even know what they need to study.

“They don’t know what the economy or what the employer wants, or what the job market needs in the labour market, so they go to school to study without even knowing the end result.

“Which would be that they are able to obtain a certificate that actually says that they are an amazing employee to be hired.”

According to him, when they go and invest the time, invest the resources of their parent on an unintentional intent, and then they also learn something that was not It’s not of great value, then it is redundant, like wasted time and wasted resources.

He noted that it’s really crucial that children and youths are aware of this understanding and that the Summit has created that awareness.

During a panel session titled: “Navigating Tech Career from the Inside” experts majorly from Zarttech team stressed the need for young Nigerians, particularly secondary school students to take up digital skills irrespective of what they aim to study in school.

Oreoluwa Adesanya, Zarttalent Data Analyst Tutor, encouraged students particularly those at the summit to embrace tech as a career. She narrated how she transitioned from studying medical laboratory science in school to becoming a data analyst.

Also, Babatunde Shodeinde, Head of Design at Zarttech, who also transitioned to tech sector after graduating in a different background in school charged the students to start now, adding that their young age is a huge advantage for them to achieved whatever they set their minds to in the ecosystem.

According to him, “you are still very young and there’s no limit to what you can achieve. If there’s better time to start, it’s now. Trust me I know people younger than you people here, I know seven-year old’s learning programming, learning design, learning data and so on. The age in which you’re in right now there’s just so much information out there, so much resources for you to experiment with.”

Speaking at the summit, Mrs Sonia Fajusigbe, Policy Advisor Entrepreneurship Youth Employment and Healthcare Consulate General of the Netherlands in Lagos encouraged youths on the effective and efficient use of technology to their advantage.

Fajusigbe said that there are so many opportunities in the technology ecosystem for the youths to harness as entrepreneurs and innovators.

According to her, our climate in Nigeria is very interesting and with limited opportunities but one can make the best opportunity out of it.

“Data is gold, you have phones, install Britannica it is for student in high school and elementary schools basically for research, it will help you.

“If you do that, you will not go out of scope and remain within the scope, and I would like everyone to take this with them.

“It says self-discipline is what separates winners and the losers, when you are not disciplined, you are just among the crowd.

“It is when you are self-disciplined, you have a goal in front of you and focus on it.”

Fajusigbe said that youths should try as much as possible to ensure consistency in that discipline and when consistency is mixed with discipline one would achieve a whole lot.

Pay-TV operator, Multichoice Group, has rebranded its SuperSport variety channels on both DStv and GOtv platforms.

In a statement on Thursday by the Executive Head of Marketing at MultiChoice West Africa, Tope Oshunkeye, MultiChoice announced that the changes took effect from Wednesday, October 9, 2024.

Changes on DStv, GOtv

As part of the rebranding, the current SuperSport Select Channel has been renamed SuperSport Africa.

A new channel, SuperSport Action, has also been introduced, featuring a broader range of sports content, including UFC matches and additional Champions League games.

GOtv packages will see the following changes:

• On the GOtv Jinja and GOtv Jolli packages, SuperSport Africa will replace Select 2 (Channel 64).
• On the GOtv Max package, SuperSport Africa and SuperSport Africa 2 will replace Select 1 and Select 2 (Channels 63 and 64).
• SuperSport Action will replace Select 3 (Channel 69) on the GOtv Supa and SupaPlus bouquets.

Oshunkeye explained the reason for the updates, stating, “The channel revamp is part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our sports offering and provide customers with more unbeatable sports content that resonates with them.”

He added that the new channels would deliver top sports action from around the world, including local boxing, UFC events, comprehensive analysis, and other engaging content curated for the African audience.

Oshunkeye reiterated MultiChoice’s commitment to offering premium services, saying, “We remain dedicated to delivering the best sporting action to our customers and continuously exploring ways to delight them with more choices, exciting live content, and great value.”

Subscribers are encouraged to subscribe, reconnect, or upgrade their packages through the MyGOtv App or by dialing *288#. They can also watch their favourite sports on the go using the GOtv Stream app.

XA Network, a leading investment network founded by tech alumni in Southeast Asia, on Thursday announced its expansion into Africa with the launch of XA Africa.

The move underscores the network’s vision and commitment to fostering innovation and supporting promising startups globally.
XA Africa is founded by a trio of experienced tech professionals:

● Nitin Gajria, former MD of Google Sub-Saharan Africa
● Jason Scott, venture capitalist and an architect of the Black Founders Fund at Google
● Marek Dawidowicz, current Marketing Director at YouTube and South African native

“Founders of technology startups in Africa are uniquely placed to solve some of Africa’s most profound challenges and unlock its greatest opportunities.

“We see the foray of XA Network into Africa as a natural progression, allowing us to connect amazing founders to experienced and expert operators from the tech industry”, says Nitin Gajria, Co-Founder of XA Africa.

XA Africa aims to connect exceptional African tech founders with seasoned investors and industry experts, primarily from global and regional technology companies, to provide not just capital but also the guidance and support needed to scale their ventures.

The newly established XA Africa has already made notable investments in promising African startups, including:

● Crop2Cash (Nigeria)
● BuuPass (Kenya)
● Kaya (South Africa)
● Talamus Health (Ghana)

“We are excited to have XA network on board because of their strong network of experts who are open to listening and helping.

“They’ve introduced us to advisors from Expedia and truly understand the dynamics of emerging markets, making them a valuable investor.” – Sonia Kabra & Wyclife Omondi – Founders of BuuPass

“Partnering with XA Network has been a game-changer for our company. Their strategic guidance and network have opened doors to new opportunities, and we’re excited to see the impact of our collaboration continue to unfold.

“We’re grateful for their trust in our vision.” – Michael Ogundare – CEO of Crop2Cash

Since its inception six years ago, XA Network has established itself as a significant player in the Southeast Asian startup ecosystem, making nearly 100 investments in the region, and consistent ranked as #1 investment network in the region.

XA Network comprises senior leaders from prominent global and regional technology companies and notable company founders.

This approach distinguishes XA Network, enabling it to offer portfolio companies unparalleled guidance and support from experienced industry operators.

“We also see an opportunity to build a stronger bridge between ecosystems in Africa and Southeast Asia along the way.

“In fact, this investment hypothesis has already been proven across some of the African founders we are currently supporting.”, Mr Gajria added

The XA Africa team will be hosting their first public Demo Day webinar on Thursday November 7, 1-2pm GMT+1, where Africa focused investors can meet and invest in four founding companies and learn more about XA Africa. Click here to register for the event.