Edniesal launches CIO club Africa
…Celebrates key players in Nigeria’s tech space
Edniesal consulting, a business consultancy firm and host of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) Awards in Nigeria, has launched the CIO club Africa, a platform that will bring together and connect players in the entire ICT ecosystem of ICT to discuss and work on immersing the whole of Africa into the technology space.
Speaking at the maiden CIO Awards Ceremony held in Lagos on Thursday, in recognition of individuals and enterprises delivering excellence in the Information and communications technology (ICT) sector across various industries, Abiola Lasehinde, CEO Edniesal consulting said “The year 2020 has without a doubt been very challenging for all of us. However, it is in this pandemic that the vitality of Technology in our everyday life was emphasized, hence, the need to celebrate those working behind the scenes to ensure the growth of technology,
While we must celebrate our IT leaders, this initiative does not stop there as it is equally important that we create a notable platform that will present a unique opportunity for IT leaders to network, exchange ideas and birth initiatives that will not only affect our ecosystem but also prepare us for future global challenges. It is to this end that The CIO Club Africa was conceived,” Lasehinde explained.
Speaking with BusinessDay, Lasehinde mentioned that the technology space in Nigeria is still underutilized adding that the sector has the potential to develop the country and the citizens significantly.
“We have the fourth industrial revolution now and it is filtering in bits and pieces, with this, we can compete and move out of the emerging market status into a developed country,
Technology, innovation creativity and good governance will transform the country which makes it imperative for us to adapt quickly and fully utilize the opportunities that technology has to offer,” she explained.
Speaking on the awardees, she mentioned that the winners were picked from over 200 nominations through a transparent and rigorous process to achieve a meritbased award system with high profile industrial veterans making up the panel of judges.
The lawyer turned business consultant said that while the event will not be a one-off, going forward, players from other sectors who are seen as modifiers and are making an impact in the country will be celebrated as well.
Ade Bajomo, executive director for information technology and operations at Access Bank Plc, said Nigeria has improved with the use of ICT as Nigerians are part of the highest internet users in the world and are also the most active on social media. He added technology has a huge potential which will positively and significantly impact the county and the economy however Nigerians are yet to fully utilize technology in driving efficiency, improving productivity and championing growth.
“To fully utilize ICT in Nigeria, we need to start by upgrading our academic system and then applying the use of technology in line with global standard, we have a huge population and this can be used to our advantage if we employ technology as a solution enabler
The beauty about technology is that with the right skills everybody can start proffering solutions for Nigeria and Africa at large using global technology,” he said.
Bajomo who was the chairman of the jury said the winners of the awards were picked through a credible process after thoroughly scrutinizing their projects, delivery accomplishments and other indices.