UK-Nigeria Tech Hub Set to Empower Start-ups
THE UK Government has stated its commitment to support the growth of tech sector in Nigeria as a growing and sustainable digital ecosystem which contributes to economic growth and diversification.
Honey Ogundeyi, country director, UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, stated this in a statement released in Lagos.
According to the statement, “The UK- Nigeria Tech Hub is set to launch intervention programmes to support Nigeria’s Tech eco-system, following its recently concluded survey in the country on startups & investors, to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and other preventive protocols on their businesses.
“The objective of the survey was to understand how COVID-19 has affected early-stage start-up revenue, growth, fundraising, and further gain insights on new strategies that would better support start-ups during and post-COVID-19.”
She further stated that the results from the survey of the ongoing pandemic and the lockdown economy continues to affect start-ups in different ways, forcing them to re-evaluate business models, disrupting the value chain, and re-assess fundraising plans. And on a more positive note the pandemic has caused an acceleration of remote working.
Ogundeyi said: “In April 2020, the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub surveyed the tech-sector to better understand how start-ups are adapting in these unprecedented times.
“Respondents to the survey, ranged from pre-seed to Series A companies, in tech-sectors including agriculture, education, financial services, health, amongst others.
“Our goal with this survey was to provide insights to help identify the interventions and support most beneficial to start-ups in Nigeria and to offer more insightful guidance to the Nigerian start-up community and other key stakeholders.
“The UK will continue to focus our work on three key areas: programmes we can put in place to drive the recovery agenda; how we can create long-term prosperity; and the capacity and digital skills programmes to support Nigeria’s digital sector.”