Soludo laying foundation to make Anambra tech hub of Africa – aide

Gov. Chukwuma Soludo has promised to make Anambra Silicon Valley of Africa by making the state the hub of digitally driven solution and innovation in Africa.

Ms Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser on Innovation and Business Incubation to the governor said this at a news conference on Tuesday while unrolling the programme of the maiden Anambra Innovative Week.

Okoli said the Anambra Innovative Week scheduled for between Nov. 25 and Nov. 29 would feature a competition called “Battle for Solution” where a total of N100 million would be won by tech inventors and innovators.

She said the Innovation Week will be a leading platform for showcasing Nigerians and African’s fast growing and vibrant technology and innovation ecosystem in furtherance to the vision of making Anambra the Silicon Valley of Africa.

Okoli said startups and innovators across Nigeria were invited to pitch solutions which addressed critical societal challenges in various sectors such as health and renewable energy, e-commerce agritech education, fintech environments among others.

According to her, on behalf of Governor Soludo I am delighted to announce the Anambra innovation week 2024 which is going to become an annual event.

“Anambra innovation week will feature exhibitions, games competitions, keynote speeches, high level panels, workshops, master classes and a trade innovation fair for SMEs.

“The five day event will bring together innovators, policymakers, top tech CEOs industry experts entrepreneurs, investors, digital experts and the academia from Africa and beyond.

“The ‘Battle for Solutions’ is an innovative competition with a prize pool of over 100 million naira in cash prizes.

“These are designed to advance technology innovation workshop across the continent, Anambra innovation week prioritises growth through bold ideas, talents technology and invention,” he said.

Okoli said the Anambra government was already laying solid foundation for tech infrastructure that supported the ecosystem with over 2000 kilometers of fiber duct laid across the state to aid internet connectivity.

She said the permanent site for Solution Innovation District sitting on 13.7 hectares of land near the Government House of Anambra State had been designated and currently under construction.

“The Anambra State Startup Law a domestication of the Nigerian Startup Act is underway and the the goal is to boost an environment that nurtures creativity entrepreneurship and sustainable economic development.

“This is setting the foundation for what will become the hub of innovation and technology in Anambra, we call it anambra’s own Silicon Valley.

“We have trained over 25,000 youths since last year when we started on various digital skills preparing them for jobs at the global market and many of them interestingly have secured jobs,” she said