The Chairman, Zinox and Konga Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, has assured foreign investors who are willing to invest in Nigeria of the full backing of the country’s technological capacity, especially in the area of human capacity and skilled IT professionals.
Speaking as a delegate to the France–Nigeria Investment Forum, held in France, and led by the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Dr. Ekeh guaranteed “the existence of world-class IT professionals in their thousands who are available to support these investors”, and asked French investors to invest in the educational sector and partner with some Nigerian educational institutions to produce graduates who may become global citizens in the corporate world.
He highlighted the existing relationship Zinox Group and Konga had maintained with French companies in Nigeria in the tech sector for over 30 years ago, calling out on some of the French CEOs present at the event.
The outing was described as good for President Tinubu’s administration as this year saw the country present Nigeria’s leading women CEOs to the French and global investment communities.
In attendance included the CEO of Zenith Bank, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji; President and Group CEO of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) Plc., Dr. Owen Omogiafor; and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, who made presentations.
One of the participants at the event, a Nigerian UK-based property investor, Tolu Aderemi-Cole, narrating his experience said: “For some of us who have attended a few such forums in the past, this year’s edition stands out as the best from a Nigerian perspective, especially because of the organization and selection of relevant, successful Nigerian entrepreneurs who attended.
Ekeh’s confidence was infectious, and you could gauge the impact of his audacious presentation from the faces of both the foreigners and Nigerians in the audience. I am sure there are many companies with the profile of Zinox and Konga Group that are yet to be showcased to the world.
One of his most impactful impressions in his presentation was when he said that you cannot anticipate future investments anywhere in the world without technology as your enabler.”
Referencing Elon Musk, Aderemi-Cole lamented the “very limited Nigeria economy with structural challenges and several infrastructural deficits,” which has limited the likes of Dr. Ekeh from achieving his goal of making Nigeria pivotal in global IT ecosystem.
He further called on the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Dr. Bosun Tijani, to “produce more Dr. Ekehs to guarantee the future of Nigeria.”
Aderemi-Cole spoke of Dr. Ekeh’s achievement in his vision to launch what he called ‘Digital Democracy’ by digitalising elections and electoral processes in the country, while making efforts at consolidation of data through digital census to guide planning and investments to achieve his ambition of promoting Nigeria to the status of an economy the world can trust.
While acknowledging that Tech is the present and the future, he called on the Nigerian government to be intentional by patronising and helping to grow indigenous players to ensure they remain competitive on the global stage. “I must say that I am proud of Dr. Ekeh and his achievements as a serial tech entrepreneur. His work inspires confidence in Nigeria’s potential. However, the next two years will be pivotal in proving that this progress can be sustained.”
Although a government-to-government outing, the event was largely driven by the private sector, including experienced foreigners who functioned as moderators.
