NITEC to Drive Need for African TechPreneurs’ Global Exposure- Braimah

The Nigeria International Technology Exhibition & Conference (NITEC 2016) is being perfected as a credible platform to make case for African startups financing.

Mr. Ehi Braimah, managing director and CEO, Neo Media & Marketing and the lead convener of NITEC 2016, told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that while reiterating the need for venture capitalist, the government and corporate organization to think “TechPrenenurship Development”, part of the activities is to channel attention on disruptive technologies as panaceas to reinventing Africa’s economies.

Braimah, who was speaking on the preparations for the International Technology ConFab, said that business leaders in Africa, especially entrepreneurs, should not be frightened by the prospect of disruptive technology, rather innovate for relevance

First termed “disruptive innovation,” by Clayton Christenson of the Harvard Business School, the concept entails such an evolutionary process whereby new goods and services replace established competitors, and eventually increase accessibility and affordability for a much larger population.

While speaking on the conference slogan, “Trending Technologies”, Braimah said that African startups must be backed by both the private and public sectors for possible developing of social relevant technological disruption in the likes of Facebook, twitter, WhatsApp, (social media), Uber (transport), Google, Yahoo, Bing (search engines), among others.

To this end, he said that NITEC 2016 is positioned to bridge the gap between the private and public sectors and the international technology community in re-engineering the African technological ecosystem for greater impact on every facet of the society.

He reiterated that NITEC believes that successful leaders are very often entrepreneurs in their own way, who also see the benefits of embracing the “disruptive innovation” perspective.

“NITEC is a way of showcasing that disruptive technology is a big plus to your company in the areas of expanding the market potentials through innovation with new and existing products or services. With disruptive technologies opportunities for the future will present themselves as you open the door for the possibility of something new, while creating a platform for growth. This is what NITEC stands for. No sector of the economy will survive without technology. So, technology should be treated as a lifestyle. What is our lifestyle when it comes to technology? Come to NITEC and discover”, he said.

The Neo Media & Marketing Chief disclosed that, “Already, we have spaces for exhibitors. If you have the technological prowess to change things in the society, come and showcase it. We want to partner you.

“You may wish why exhibit. Top reasons to exhibit at NITEC 2016 include exposure of products & services to thousands of attendees; exhibition booth (2 days); placement of brand logo on event brochure and website; Free Wifi & place banners and share branded gifts at booths.

The NITEC Coordinator listed expected speakers at the conference to include, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, minister of Communications; Segun Ogunsanya, MD/CEO, Airtel Nigeria; Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor, country manager, Google Nigeria; Tunde Coker, MD, Rack Centre, among other notable innovators in the Nigerian tech ecosystem.

Some of the sessions will include Digital Innovation, Tech Future, Disruptive Hardware, Design and Development. Under these sessions, topics such as Digital Media, Productivity, Smart Cites, Clean-Tech, Energy, Internet of Things,  Mobility etc.

Also, interesting side attractions are hacks, interactions, prize winning games and networking sessions for everyone.

And, there will be exhibitions of new tech products, team hacking battles, a variety of tech-related games as well as airtime-winning games using Rafflecopter.com.

“We hope NITEC as an annual event will push Nigeria’s place in the comity of global tech giants. Now is the time to innovate. We have seen the impact of technology on Nollywood contents distribution, entertainment, transport, etc,” he added.