Industry experts have advocated for more collaboration on the challenges, innovations and opportunities for technology in the African region.
The experts, who spoke at a two-day ‘Abuja Tech Converge – TechXcelerate’ conference, organised by an agricultural technology company, ThriveAgric, with more than 500 people in attendance in Abuja, in partnership with OCP Africa, discussed collaborative technology for community impact, sustainable technology and impact investing, as well as talents: Nurturing the next generation of innovators, among other content tracks.
Notable thought leaders including Head, Business Development & Digital Projects for Nigeria, OCP Africa, Akintunde Akinwande; CEO, Payforce by FairMoney, Oluwatomi Ayorinde; and VP, Ecosystem & Venture Labs, Spark Africa HQ, Cynthia E. Chisom, set the ball rolling in an engaging panel on the need for collaboration in the ecosystem. Other highlights of the event were keynotes, breakout sessions, product showcases and a techathon where young tech talents walked away with prizes.
In his keynote address, the former Governor of Bauchi State, Senator Isa Yuguda, called on government to channel more investment into agriculture in areas like technology and infrastructure to address the problem of food insecurity and hunger.
He further stated that the revitalisation of the country’s river basins and construction of more dams will immensely drive this.
Echoing the ex-governor’s position on the role of technology, Head, Business Development and Digital Projects of OCP Africa, Akinwande, said the Abuja Tech Converge would showcase the potential of technology in reshaping the future of agriculture, thus, engendering sustainable communities.
Delivering his welcome address that set the tone for the day, the Chief Executive Officer, ThriveAgric and conveners of the Abuja Tech Converge, Uka Eje, said the aim of the conference is to demystify the agriculture sector as a legitimate, inclusive and viable economic sector and to trigger a movement of new recruits and believers.
“We want to make the sector more attractive and champion a different system of collaborative agriculture that actively embraces different groups of people – rural and urban youths, technology enthusiasts and innovators, local investors, regulators and all levels of government so we can build the country of our dreams.”
At the event, ThriveAgric unveiled the first set of graduating interns in their Tech-Talent Accelerated Programme (TAP). The six-month programme launched in May this year was designed to support young tech enthusiasts looking to achieve their dreams in the ever-evolving world of technology.
Over 4,000 applications were received, however; only 20 candidates were admitted into the intensive programme where the successful participants were upskilled in core technical areas including frontend development, backend development and product (UI/UX) design.
The closing activity was a techathon sponsored by OCP Africa, where a cash prize of N2 million was awarded to a group of four interns who designed a healthcare solution capable of providing personalised healthcare services to patients.
The runner-up groups walked away with N1 million and N500, 000 each for building a recruitment solution and a customised learning solution respectively. Other winners from this year’s TAP cohort are Aneminyene John-Prince, Caleb Owatah and Caleb Ali who emerged overall best students winning N500,000, N300,000 and N200,000, respectively.
Speaking on the goal behind the TAP initiative, Head of People and Culture at ThriveAgric, Favour Eze, said, “the growing demand for tech talents in the ecosystem has led ThriveAgric to build a specialised programme that fosters a diverse pool of talented professionals prepared to tackle key industry challenges both within the agri-tech industry and other sectors.
“Our biggest impact is that we’ve transformed participating interns into skilled professionals. This new level of expertise has resulted in seven of the 20 participants being offered employment opportunities both internally and with our programme partners, as well as another five graduated interns who are currently undergoing recruitment processes by other organisations. This is a step in empowering African youth to achieve their career dreams.”
