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Technology and thought leaders from top Nigerian companies gathered last week at the SAP Executive Roundtable to discuss opportunities for Nigeria to excel in the digital economy.
The event featured a line-up of expert speakers from SAP, as well as a guest speaker from the event partner, Deloitte. The interactive sessions focused on key business and technology trends that are shaping the West African innovation landscape.
According to Adekunle Aina, Head of Industry Value Advisory at SAP West Africa, public and private sector focus on building Intelligent Enterprise capabilities is at an all-time high. “Organisations are relooking how they offer products and services to citizens and customers to meet high demands for quality, convenience and personalisation. As the pace of change in the digital economy accelerates, leading organisations are increasingly adopting Intelligent Enterprise capabilities that will help them build the agility, capacity and speed to respond and remain successful. Based on the quality of today’s discussions and the local use cases shared, organisations in the region are rising to the challenge, with potentially game-changing opportunities for businesses and communities.”
Nigeria Vision 2020 outlines a plan for the Country to be one of the 20 largest economies in the world, able to consolidate its leadership role in Africa and establish itself as a significant player in the global economic and political arena. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is expected to reach a GDP of $29 trillion by 2050 while continuing to grow in population size, with Nigeria estimated to have a larger population than the United States by 2050, making it the third most populous country in the world after India and China. This creates an enormous opportunity for Nigeria as a powerhouse on the Continent and globally, but its ability to thrive will depend heavily on its ability to take advantage of digital opportunities to transform.
Chibuzor Ezeasor Presales Customer Solutions Manager at SAP West Africa, spoke about the latest tech trends, and how to get ahead of the next wave of innovation. “We are living in the era of the experience economy. Customers, consumers and citizens have clear expectations on service delivery and personalisation. To succeed, organisations must be at the forefront of the latest technological trends and innovation. But it goes beyond successful technology adoption. It is about creating a culture of innovation and agility to be able to respond to feedback and transform accordingly. Leadership has a huge role to play in fostering this culture and it’s critical for Nigeria’s economic development.”
Sessions at this year’s roundtable included discussions over experience management, the digital boardroom and placing people at the heart of the intelligent enterprise transformation.
“There is no debate on whether Nigeria needs to embrace digitisation to prosper in this new world,” adds Aina. “The importance now is to move from Thinking to Doing. The executive roundtable provided some practical examples of how to bring strategy to life”.
