Emma Okonji
Nigeria’s tech-talent curator, Andela, has advised the federal government to put in place a platform to encourage eco-driven technology that would drive the country’s economy.
Andela’s Director of Operations, Mr. Seni Sulyman, who gave the advice during an interactive session with the press in Lagos recently, said government should utilise the opportunities in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to assist start-ups to boost the economy.
He said Andela was founded on a simple truth, brilliance, adding that the company unlocks brilliance by giving global companies access to untapped talent across Africa and creating an on-ramp to the digital economy.
According to him, “Andela was founded on a simple truth, brilliance is evenly distributed but opportunity is not. We unlock that brilliance by giving global companies access to untapped talent across Africa and creating an on-ramp to the digital economy.”
“Andela is a movement. It is a collection of brilliant minds across Africa. Andela is a programming sprint followed by a football match, leading into a rooftop dance party. It is a platform for tech-enabled growth around the world. It is a commitment that while the digital revolution may have begun in Silicon Valley, its future will be written in Lagos, Nairobi and cities across Africa,” Sulyman added.
He used the occasion to call on Nigerians to attend Andela fellowship to rewrite the history of African continent technologically and business wise.
“We build on tech that builds on future. We also build on sustainable business that will rule the world of technology. People come for Andela fellowship to rewrite the history of African continent technologically and after six months programme, we can be able to say where each participant can fit it and we also assist them to get placement,” Sulyman said.
“The country has not done enough in terms of development. We should have ecosystem that is driven by technology to drive our economy. Government should give the right platform on ground that can be built on by others, especially the start-up and private sectors,” he added.
He insisted that private investors should be able to carve the path while the government creates roads.
“The government should understand the challenges facing ICT and the challenges should be promptly addressed. As we are preaching the gospel of technology, we want to build people, we need more risk investors in the industry. What we are doing is what will challenge solution developers in Nigeria. Technology follows knowledge, local policy will help Nigeria in building its content,” Sulyman said.