How Northern Nigerian States are embracing Technology

Aisha Ibrahim Tilde, Project Manager, Startup Arewa has revealed the growing rate of technology adoption in Northern Nigeria and highlighted what local tech NGos like StartupArewa are doing to change the narrative across the 19 Northern states.

“The growing tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria will take off if it is supported, despite the region’s high rates of poverty, illiteracy, and insecurity. The media rarely discusses technology in Northern Nigeria very often. Most news stories feature graphic images of Boko Haram’s assault in the North-East, bandits taking hostages in the North West, or clashes between farmers and herders in the North Central” She said.

However, this did not diminish their total contribution to economic development and growth. With the emergence of passionate and seasoned technopreneurs with the goal of making northern Nigeria a global hub for high technology, innovation, and business, northern Nigeria is gradually closing the technological gap. The emergence of technological innovations has evolved a whole new generation of entrepreneurs, those who are technology savvy, creative, innovative and dynamic. They have a blend of technological prowess and entrepreneurial skills. A completely new breed of tech-savvy, inventive, and dynamic entrepreneurs has emerged as a result of technological advancements. They combine technical aptitude with business acumen.

As can be seen in today’s knowledge-based as well as developing countries, the interaction between technology and entrepreneurship has proven to be a crucial agent of enterprise development. Nigeria has not been left out of this technological industry termed technopreneurship, as evidenced by the fact that these entrepreneurs’ creations are resonating in our daily lives.

To accomplish this feat, the watchword should be collaboration, which is, forming a cluster of northern tech and media entrepreneurs (regardless of tribe, religion, gender or region as long as they entrepreneurs operate in the Northern part of the county that share ideas and experiences.

Through the Startup Arewa Innovation Summit (SAIS), startupArewa has made a move in 2017 to give northern technopreneurs a stage to succeed. A community of tech enthusiasts, media and tech entrepreneurs, and investors operating in northern Nigeria has been brought together by the initiative to work on creating a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere for startups in the area.

However, it now a project that has produced tech hubs across the 19 Northern states in Nigeria, helping young tech entrepreneurs and digital talents make the most of those skills with public and private partnership like Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOi) and Coders for Africa have supported to grow the tech community in the region.

Given northern Nigeria’s challenges, a thriving tech ecosystem focused on innovative ideas to solve the region’s issues can prove vital. “We’re particularly interested in the areas of education, health, payments and governance because we feel that these are areas that can make the most impact here right now’’.

Finally, after engaging with a few young people in tech across Northern Nigeria, I am confident that if given the opportunity and resources the North is an emerging ecosystem embracing technology like never before. In all of these, education plays a vital role, from breeding talents to sensitizing the government and the populace on the importance of technology and entrepreneurship.