Nigeria’s economy’ll be driven by technology, not oil – Osinbajo

The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, says the growth of the Nigerian economy will mostly be driven by technology and not the oil and gas industry.

Osinbajo made this known at the unveiling of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Innovation Experience Centre in Lagos on Wednesday.

The Vice President, who was represented by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, said the centre was in line with the present administration’s plan to improve the ease of doing business, transform the economy and boost technology adoption.

“The PwC Experience Centre is in line with the smart technology initiative of the government. As an administration, we recognise that Nigeria’s future does not lie in oil and gas but more in technology and innovation. This is anchored on moving the economy away from a resource-based to a people-based model. We must take this seriously going forward,” Osinbajo said.

Other guests at the centre including Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Chairman, Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia; and the Regional Senior Partner, PwC West Africa, Uyi Akpata, urged the corporate community to take advantage of the opportunities in smart technology to transform the country’s economy and boost their performances.

Sanwo-Olu stated that the centre reflected the state government’s plan to transform the city’s economy with smart solutions, urging other corporate entities to take a cue from the consulting firm and take advantage of the government’s technology agenda.

“I think the PwC initiative is the way to go. It is in line with what the Lagos State government is doing to boost the economy. I encourage other companies to see it as a challenge and begin to tap into the opportunities the government is creating,” he said.

According to Ovia, who chaired the event, Nigerian businesses stand a chance to triple their growth rate and earnings through innovation and technology.

“The options are to innovate and transform or die,” he said.

Through the centre, Akpata said the firm was expanding its digital services and innovative solution offerings across West Africa.

He added, “The centre, the first of its kind by a professional services firm in West Africa combines creativity, research, existing knowledge and strategic insight with a new structured way of solving problems. This unique, modular, flexible concept supports PwC’s clients’ teams in exploring, designing and building user-centric solutions, ranging from re-imagining customer experiences to fully transforming business models and creating new ecosystems. The use of emerging technologies is pivotal to this designing process.”

Also, Partner and Experience Centre Leader, PwC West Africa, Femi Osinubi, noted, “We are harnessing the power of intelligent digital and we will be asking the tough questions. We will not just be solving client problems; we will actually be building entirely new businesses, whole new platforms that have not been considered before. We shall draw out the value within the market in areas where we can combine business, technology and experience but underpinned by deep customer insights.”

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Posted May, 7 2018

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