Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, yesterday, expressed the state government’s readiness to host the GITEX Nigeria conference in September, next year.

He said the government and the entire technology ecosystem in Nigeria would be very receptive to the coming of the global tech show to the country, especially Lagos State, where tech and innovation had found a good ground in Africa.

According to a statement, Hamzat stated this during a meeting with the Chief Executive Officer of Kaoun International, Trixie LohMirmand, and her management team at the Lagos Pavilion at the ongoing GITEX 2024 in Dubai.

The deputy governor said there could not have been a better time for the tech world to make their presence felt in Africa, particularly Nigeria, than now, when the country was experiencing an upsurge in the growth of talents in technology and innovation.

Hamzat said the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration was deliberate in its decision to make technology drive more of the state’s development programmes.

He said: “Lagos, for example, does what we call ‘Art of Technology (AOT),’ which is now in its fifth year.”

With the AOT, a lot of young entrepreneurs in the IT and innovation space have been discovered, and many of them are now running as business, with its attendant effect on our economy and the entire ecosystem.

“Another great thing that we’ve discovered is that the number of young entrepreneurs in Lagos State is unbelievable, and like you said, we can’t bring everybody here to Dubai. So, bringing GITEX to Lagos is very good, and it will allow even other countries to see what is possible, because the news that we get out there is not real.”

In her remarks, LohMirmand, said: “Technology is a necessity; it is not a luxury, saying that the world needs it for survival.”

She said the last time she visited Nigeria for a meeting, she and her team saw young Nigerians who “sat in a small room with systems on their laps doing great things.”

LohMirmand, whose company organises GITEX Global, said they were committed to discovering new partners and to connect Nigeria to opportunities that were yet untapped in the technology space.