EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
Some panelists at the ongoing 2018 Social Media Week Lagos on Tuesday tasked African entreprenuers to come up with innovations that would attract investors to the continent.
According to the panelists, present day investors are looking for innovation and not location.
They discussed the topic, “Digital Transformation: Does Your Business Have What It Takes To Survive In The Digital Age?”
One of the discussants, Ifenyinwa Ugochukwu, Director of Partnership and Evaluation, Tony Elumelu Foundation, said that investors were interested in an innovative entrepreneur.
She noted that innovation cut across sectors, urging that an entreprenuer should have passion for his work.
“With passion in what you are doing, you will be able to proffer solutions in what you do.
“The use of technology will enhance what you are doing,” she said.
Ugochukwu said that entreprenuers should look for innovations that would disrupt.
“Disruptive technologies are now transforming the world; as an entrepreneur, one needs to either disrupt or he will be disrupted.
“The transformation of the continent is not all about aid but empowerment of the youth, and there is need to use technology if one wants to stay at the cutting edge,” she said.
Mr Akin Banuso, Country General Manager, Microsoft, urged entreprenuers to think of how to build businesses that would be a corporate digital citizen.
According to Banuso, with the power of the cloud, it is possible for small businesses to come up and compete with big ones.
“There is need for entreprenuers to come up with new ideas and infuse new technologies into them.
“Government is not a foreign entity; it is you and I that need to come up with these ideas, share them and get support for them,” he said.
Banuso noted that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was bigger from 1960 to 1977 than that of China and India.
He said that the GDP dropped because of inadequate innovaton and investment.
Banuso said that Nigeria also relied on imports for its needs.
He advised consideration of ideas that would propel the country forward.
Mr Soromfe Uzomah, Business Development Manager, Microsoft 4Afrika, said that the impact of digital transformation was perversive in some industries.
He said that there was the need to leverage on the power of technology, cloud to get greater impact.
Uzomah urged entreprenuers not to focus more on funding to achieve their goals.
He advised that they should believe in the solutions they would come up with.
“Do not think about the money investors will give you; believe in the solution making its impact with or without investors,” he said.
Mr Akin Ayodele, General Manager, Infrastructure Technology, Wragby Business Solutions and Technologies Ltd., urged entreprenuers to go for solutions that would enable them to engage customers better.
“With digital technology, work is efficient, more work is done with less risk; digital technology enhances productivity,” he said.
TheNewsGuru reports that Social Media Week Lagos is currently in the sixth edition with the theme: ‘Closer’.
It began on Monday and will end on March 2.
The event is featuring discussions covering the future of media, travel and tourism, governance, gender inclusion, entertainment and emerging ideas and trends across the globe.