Francesca Odimgbe
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, said his administration will continue to deploy technology to provide sustainable solutions to local challenges.
He said this will ensure food security, efficient intermodal transportation system, good healthcare service delivery and quality education, among others.
Sanwo-Olu spoke at the Endeavor Nigeria’s Annual Scale Up Entrepreneurship Summit held on Tuesday, at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Sanwo-Olu said his administration understands clearly that the key role of government in the emerging global ecosystem is to facilitate the unleashing of potentials through the provision of critical infrastructure while also initiating policies aimed at easing the process of doing business.
He said: “Some of the initiatives we are implementing to support the tech and initiatives ecosystem include the fiber optics that we are laying to improve Internet connection, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, which has supported over 12,710 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), to access over N8.4 billion loan.
“We are also boosting agricultural productivity through the Agri-preneurship (L.A.P) intervention aimed at exposing young entrepreneurs to the potential in the agriculture value chain through training using modern technology-enabled agricultural techniques and practices for job and wealth creation.
“As a government, we are prioritising and investing in initiatives that will deepen the deployment of technology in process and ideas aimed at providing sustainable solutions to our local challenges and attain policy objectives in areas such food security, efficient intermodal transportation system, healthcare service delivery, education among others.
“It gives me great pleasure to know that we have a great partner in Endeavor Nigeria with whom we can synergise to provide the necessary support for our budding entrepreneurs.”
Sanwo-Olu while congratulating the leadership of Endeavor Nigeria, said the organisation’s unwavering commitment since 2018 to usher in a new era of growth and economic development driven by high-impact entrepreneurship in Nigeria through the annual summit and other support systems is highly commendable.
He said: “As a global free enterprise network, Endeavor Nigeria has played a pivotal role in leading the high-impact entrepreneurship movement, accelerating their growth by building a strong free enterprise ecosystem in growth markets from diverse industries that can transform the Nigerian economy through job creation and economic opportunities.
“We must commend Endeavor Nigeria for providing the platform and support that have given rise to incredible enterprises that have harnessed the power of innovation and technology. These enterprises such as Flutter Wave, Moniepoint, Daystar Power, Piggy Vest, and Paga have achieved incredible global visibility as a result of the deployment of innovation and technology to provide solutions to challenges, especially in the financial sector as well as tech-driven platforms that support seamless transactions.
“Given the celebrated achievements of these enterprises across the continent and beyond, creating wealth and job opportunities and contributing significantly to the nation’s GDP, we can look forward with confidence and optimism, into a future that guarantees groundbreaking breakthroughs that will further launch Nigeria and indeed Africa into global economic prominence.
“As a government, we are excited by these incredible achievements, because it has further validated the status of Lagos as Africa’s hub for startups driven by innovation and technology. These exciting developments also point to the appropriateness of all the policies and programmes we have been implementing to provide the enabling environment that encourages and supports the growth and development of entrepreneurship.