Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said his administration would build innovation and technology centres across the state to tackle youth unemployment.
Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, disclosed this at a forum organised by the Eko Innovation Centre in Lagos.
He said: “Technology is the way to go. It is the way of the future and our administration is committed to leveraging on technology in delivering the megacity dream.
“As a government, we will build innovation and technology centres where we can bring in private capital and investors, get ideas from young people on technology and be able to start creating employment for our youths.
“We also believe that to achieve the THEME concept that has to do with the environment, education, transportation and health, innovations and technology is key.
“People from those centres would come and give us innovative ideas to solve our transport problem; ideas with which they think locally. ”
Welcoming guests, Mr. Victor Afolabi, the Founder, Eko Innovation Centre, noted that the objective of the initiative was to transform the technology and innovation landscape in Nigeria and by extension, Africa.
Afolabi lamented that lack of capital was limiting the capabilities of entrepreneurs to develop innovation technologies in order to solve the problems in the country.
While calling on the state government to support and create the enabling environment for start-ups to flourish, he said: “We saw in the Lagos manifesto an agenda to make the state a 21st century economy.
“The only way to create a 21st century economy is to make sure you are creating the enabling environment for businesses and solution to problems that are driven by innovation and technology.”
