At GITEX Africa, Sanwo-Olu lists Lagos pathway to digital economy

As GITEX Africa winds down today in Marrakech, Morocco, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has listed some of the policy thrusts and projects the state has executed to make Nigeria’s commercial capital of over 20 million people the hub for Africa’s digital economy.

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“Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling mega-city, is emerging as a thriving epicenter of tech entrepreneurship and innovation. Lagos is home to some of the most innovative and successful startups in Africa, including Andela, Paystack, Flutterwave, Kobo360, Kuda Bank and many others. These companies have not only transformed industries like fintech and e-commerce but have also inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs and investors across the continent,” the governor said in a speech at the main stage to project the increasing value of Lagos to investors.

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He said his administration has committed fund, policies and willpower to advance the tech sector and plans to speed up actions on infrastructure deployment, IT skill development and digital ID among others in the next four years to attract more investors.

IT Edge News.Africa has broken down the government’s list below.

Lagos is committing fund, policies and willpower

1. “In deepening internet penetration, a key ingredient for start-up, we have deployed over 2,900km of fibre optic infrastructure that aims to connect public schools, government buildings, hospitals, and other points of interest.
2. “Along the same channels, we have deployed, in partnership with the private sector 3,000km of optical duct infrastructure. This will serve to de-risk infrastructure development in Lagos which will in turn increase connectivity.
3. “In the past one year, Lagos has attracted over one billion dollars in Data center investment. This will enable the local domicile of digital platforms as well as facilitate the proliferation of digital technology opportunities. The proliferation of these investments also presents 10 opportunities for talent development within this ecosystem.
4. “Our Smart City implementation has seen us deploy over 600 Smart Intelligent Video Surveillance Cameras as well as Intelligent Transportation Cameras for Traffic monitoring and management. Over the past year, through our initial ITS pilot deployment leveraging our Automatic number plate recognition cameras, monitoring of violation infractions has reduced traffic warden in-person enforcement by 30 percent.
5. “We have also begun a significant identity management programme through our Lagos State Residents Registration Agency that will seek to identify all our inhabitants. Current projections state that Lagos will have 30 million inhabitants by 2035. It is imperative to drive the identity management ecosystem for a smarter city. This will lend to more efficient resource allocation and planning for the state. The Lagos Digital Identity Project has undergone a fundamental restructuring of its operational model. With a new digital identification card that is capable of enabling access to benefits, electronic ticketing and so on, it further drives the digital inclusion benchmark for Lagos. Currently, about five million residents have been captured. We are targeting another 10 million within the next year.
6. “Through our Lagos State Employment Trust fund, we have funded digital skills training interventions for more than 4,000 beneficiaries. Courses include digital marketing, coding, and other innovation courses. These digital skills training are needed capacity interventions that lend positively to the development of the ecosystem.