Lagos Plans Innovation, Technology Centres To Create Jobs

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Sunday said his administration would build innovation and technology centres across the state to address the problem of youths unemployment.

Sanwo-Olu, represented by his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, made the disclosure at a forum organised by the Eko Innovation Centre in Lagos.

He said that his administration recognised the place of technology as the key driver to fast-growing economies.

“Technology is the way to go. It is the way of the future and our administration is committed to leveraging on technology in delivering the megacity dream.

“As a government, we will build innovation and technology centres where we can bring in private capital and investors, get ideas from young people on technology and be able to start creating employment for our youths.

“We also believe that to achieve the THEME concept that has to do with the environment, education, transportation and health, innovations and technology is key.

“People from those centres would come and give us innovative ideas to solve our transport problem; ideas with which they think locally, ” he said.

In his address, Mr Victor Afolabi, founder, Eko Innovation Centre, said the objective of the initiative was to transform the technology and innovation landscape in Nigeria and by extension, Africa.

Afolabi said that lack of capital was limiting the capabilities of entrepreneurs to develop innovation technologies in order to solve the problems in the country.

He urged the state government to support and create the enabling environment for start-ups to thrive.

“We saw in the Lagos manifesto an agenda to make the state a 21st century economy.

“The only way to create a 21st century economy is to make sure you are creating the enabling environment for businesses and solution to problems that are driven by innovation and technology,” Afolabi said.

Also, Mr Andrew Nevin, co-founder, African Leadership Institute, said that creating smart economies with technology-driven innovative solutions would lead to creation of new jobs that previously never existed.