The managing director, Genesys Tech Hub, Enugu, Nnamdi Anika has released plans of the group to drive technology talent refinery and innovation incubation across the South East from 2018, going forward.
In an interview during the just concluded GenesysIGNITE workshop in Enugu, he said the mandate of the company is to drive innovation and Information Technology (IT) productivity in the South East, and Nigeria at large.
According to him, “Our focus is on undergraduates and earlier graduates. The Hub is designed to serve three main purposes; first, it is a centre of learning and development that is tilting towards mitigating the areas of digital divide in this region. In that regard we created- Codename: Learnable. Essentially, it is a six months internship/bootcamp. Most of the participants are drawn from undergraduates who are undergoing internship or Industrial Attachment Training (IT) programme”.
“The second programme is focused on creating enabling environment for startups. The idea is to expand their horizons, give them access to market and resources that may not be readily at their disposal. In this regard, we created a division called Genesys StartZone. It is simply our incubation programme; where we expose young startups to business mentoring, exposing them to some resources like legal support. The idea, for us, is to make sure that these startups get to a point they are matured to exist and run as independent business.
Continuing, he revealed that the third key target of the hub is “to serve as the nucleus of community of smart-young technology enthusiasts; these are talented individuals who are going to lead the tech revolution in the ecosystem, our region and Nigeria as a whole. That led to the creation of Agora”.
Giving further insights on the dream for South East youths discovery and development in IT, Anika noted that “We intend to upscale, accommodating as many as possible. We are aware that what we are doing is scratching the surface; there is a lot to be done. But in the last three years we have focused on undergraduates and fresh graduates. This has been the case because we have access to over 19 tertiary institutions based; it is based on our business model which we expect to impact the region even more in few years time”.
On why South East is the target of the group, GTech Hub boss averred that “From a personal perspective, I grew up in this region. My undergraduate programme was the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), before travelling to London School of Economics for my Master programme. So, from the onset there has been an observation. If you look at the peers around, upon graduation everybody is in a hurry to move to Lagos. For me, I have always thought that economies don’t grow in pockets”.
“To grow your economy, there must be diversification. Therefore, every region should have niche and create an ecosystem, such that, as people are graduating they can see an area capable of propelling the career. From that perspective, I always thought we need to do something. We can’t all keep running to Lagos.
“As I was returning from UK, after my graduation, I had a lot of job offers from Lagos and Abuja. But I decided that I have to be in Enugu; somebody has to be here, working hard to ensure that our people have more opportunities. We have to diversify this economy.
Anika observed that “I look at Lagos as an example and I am always like life’s expectancy rate is dropping; people are waking up at odd hours just to overcome traffic hurdles. Now is the time to spread the economy. From that perspective and attraction, I align with the saying ‘charity begins at home’. If you are looking outside Lagos, what comes to mind is the environment where you understand the terrain and the needs”.
