A week ago, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) held the Start-Up Friday meet in Kano.
It was an eye opener to the many efforts tech start ups were making to push for the opening up of the economy of North-Western Nigeria.
NOw the tarin moves to the South-East – Enugu precisely.
Consequently, NITDA says it is set to empower youths within Enugu and the South East region with Information Communication Technology (ICT) skills through its Start-Up Friday (SUF) programme on April 26.
SUF programme is a technology entrepreneurs’ gathering designed by NITDA and implemented by its subsidiary —Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE).
Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji, the National Coordinator of OIIE, in a statement in Abuja, noted that “the SUF in Enugu would be the last round of igniting the six geo-political regions across the country.”
Sambo-Magaji said that the SUF, being the 12th edition in a series, would ensure that ICT start-ups within the region were encouraged and supported by government.
“The programme is not just for Enugu but also Abia, Anambra, Aba, Ebonyi and Imo states. This completes the first round of our regional technology ecosystem ignition.’’
According to her, OIIE will carry out an evaluation to analyse feedbacks from the programmes at the end of the SUF in Enugu.
She also said that the SUF would be hosted in collaboration with ICT hubs and universities in the South-East region, which was targeted at bringing together the regional ecosystem stakeholders.
“Innovators stand the chance to submit their pitch decks and get seed funds to get their start-up off the ground to prototype, to working product and commercialisation.