Oracle Nigeria, a global hardware and software giant has been consistent in pursuit of means to galvanising enterprises development in Nigeria.
In the latest development, Oracle is partnering with Co-Creation Hub (CC-Hub), with the aim to help the next generations of techpreneurs (technology entrepreneurs) scale up their innovative skills that would bring about Nigeria’s economic development.
Adebayo Sanni, country managing director, Oracle Nigeria while on tour of CC-Hub in Lagos with Oracle team, disclosed that the partnership is met to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and part of the Company’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.
He added that the grant and expertise support given to CC-Hub was born out of Oracle’s trust in the ability of the Hub’s team to deliver on the right targets.
“The reason we are partnering with CC-Hub and the grant were basically in pursuit of our mandate: to develop a pool of skilled IT manpower in the economy. We understand their mandate, which is in line with the mandate of what Oracle wants to do and we trust the grant will be use effectively used to actually build the next generations of entrepreneurs, as part of what we need to do to give back to the country where we are working, rather than Oracle doing it themselves,” he said.
Sanni added that Oracle has always sought to partner with organizations that already have non-profit orientation and given to building techpreneurs to fulfill present and future IT obligations of the economy.
On his part, Femi Longe, co-founder of the Hub and director, Open Living Labs, confirmed that Oracle has invested a lot in the Hub and deserves commendations.
Longe said, “They (Oracle) have invested in our work to train and build capacity among software developers in Nigeria and within our community through such tools as java, XQ and few other packages. They have also invested in some of the works we are doing around educating children and powering them around science and technology and engineering”.
According to him, Oracle’s supports, contributions, and gestures from other partners, have translated into the success stories of the Hub.
The supports, he explained, have translated ordinary business idea into successful businesses now making huge returns.
From BudgIT, the first to graduate from CcHuB’s Incubation Programme and other aspiring ones coming up from all fields of human endeavour, I.T, recycling business and many more, the future of Nigeria looks bright.
Secondary schools Students have also benefited from their series of training on IT and High Institutions like UNILAG and YabaTech including Entrepreneurs come around to enjoy IT facilities and also opportunity for mentorship at the Hub.
“We organize event from time to time, where we bring developers around to discuss issues that are related to the ecosystem. Sometimes, we organize events where people come to actually use their skills to build new solutions. We also do activities where we engage upcoming talents in the Universities. So, as I mentioned ealier, we organize Java user forum and through that every weekend, we have between 10-25 students coming to share skills around Java,” Longe explained.
To this end, Sanni, Oracle boss reiterated that the Company also supports organizations, both in IT and non-IT fields with the sole aim of giving back to the society and exposing beneficiaries to better living.
“We will continue to support organizations that are non- IT not because we are IT Company; our vision is very much aligned with what co-creation is doing, that is why we are partners to them. We believe, we will do a lot of stuffs with them,” he said.
Meanwhile, Longe explained that the partnership will further help in the drive for innovative ideas and programs which the company is known for.
He urged Universities to invest in IT education for students irrespective of the course of study because Technology is taking over all sphere of human endeavour.
“In an ideal situation, Universities should be building people with the skills in software programming, to be able to build those solutions; unfortunately our educational system is also dysfunctional, this is why organizations like Oracle would still invest. Even if their background is not computer science, the truth is everyone will need to understand one form of programming irrespective of what we studied, it is the world that we are already living in,” he said.