TECHNOLOGY IS THE NEW OIL
The incursions into the dynamic tech space started in the 60s with young individuals pioneering innovations across the board.
The average age for tech entrepreneurs was 25, and with dedication, they forged new frontiers that heralded an upward shift in the American economy.
The likes of Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the rest started the technology juggernaut, and it has only wheeled into greater successes. These achievements reached a proper height with the democratization of the personal computer by Apple Inc.
The stories of successes in America have become an inspiration for other nations of the world, and the technology boom is on even in sub-Saharan Africa.
Technology has changed the game, and most young people (which would number up to 500million in 2050 in Africa) have become digital natives with a mix of product dispositions both from foreign and local climes like young people having oga taxi app and the Uber app on their phones.
The Nigerian story has been successful although it started late. But we have begun to catch the eye of the world with significant gains from companies like Gamsole, Andella, techpoint, Jumia, Dealdey, Konga and the list goes on.
It should be said that with little support these businesses have birthed, nurtured and developed a hitherto non-existent industry.
This can only continue because with technology the future only gets brighter. A clear pathway of this fact is the rapid growth of the likes of Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook worth over one trillion dollars, a sizable portion of America’s 20 trillion dollar economy.
According to The Economist magazine, the tech sector has done in 20 years what the financial services industry couldn’t do in 200 years “build scale.”
It should be said that to increase this scale the government needs to come in and put their might in the sector What government should do? For the government to be able to play in this space, they must understand the technology space. I mean holistic adoption. It should be said tech is the new oil boom, but I doubt if the government knows this.
Nigeria sits on a gold mine with over 60 per cent of its population less than 30 years with bustling energy.
The technology value chain can be used to provide opportunities that can help bring people out of the gulf of poverty.
The federal government should set up a technology awareness and reawakening fund (TARF). This fund should be used to kick-start the star-up industry in Nigeria, this should be implemented with the aim of having 13,000 starts ups funded over a period of one year, and this should be continuous.
Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@yahoo.co.uk