MainOne’s CEO, Funke Opeke, has underlined the need for businesses in Nigeria to adopt new technologies to avoid falling behind the rest of the world in technological advancement. Opeke made this known at MainOne’s annual tech conference, Nerds Unite, which held recently in Lagos with the theme “Accelerating Digital Transformation.”
Nerds Unite 2019, hosted mid-level and top level IT executives, start-up innovators and IT enthusiasts who discussed emerging trends in the IT industry and how they affect Nigeria and Africa.
The event featured IT specialists, including Toby Shapshak; ICT journalist and thought leader, Libby Barr; COO, Avanti Communications, Obinna Ekezie; CEO, Wakanow’s Ife Oyedele; CEO, Kobo 360, Deji Balogun; and the CTO of Terragon Group, among others.
At the event, IT experts discussed the importance of applying technology to every facet of life in line with digital transformation agenda of the Federal Government.
The keynote speaker at the event, Shapshak, highlighted reasons why a connected Africa is way to move the continent forward. He pointed out the peculiar situation of Africa and why it is important for Africa to utilize her strength, innovate and catch up with the rest of the world.
The first session, which was titled “Connecting the Next Billion to the Internet and Beyond to Transform the Face of Africa,” was moderated by Shapshak. The speakers for this session included Libby Barr, COO of Avanti Comm, and Funke Opeke who tackled connectivity in Africa and the use of connectivity and technology to drive development in Nigeria.
According to Opeke, “A connected Nigeria is a more economically prosperous Nigeria. It is a better educated Nigeria, it is a Nigeria where access to social services and health services are able to reach more of our population which in itself adds to more prosperity for Nigeria.” She added that the opportunity to use technology to drive economic development is the vision of what ‘we have for a connected Nigeria’.