Emma Okonji
Determined to produce more Unicorns from Nigeria to boost technology development and advance digital transformation, IHS Nigeria, a global operator and developer of shared communications infrastructure, has commenced technology innovation programme at the Ilorin Innovation Hub in Kwara State, where it will train tech startups and nurture them to become the next unicorns in Nigeria.
The training programme is commencing ahead of the official commissioning of the IHS Ilorin Innovation Hub complex later this year.
Announcing the commencement of the tech innovation programme at the weekend in Ilorin, the CEO of IHS Nigeria, Mr. Mohamad Darwish, said the innovation centre, located in Ilorin, Kwara State, was an initiative of the Kwara State government, built and equipped in partnership with IHS Nigeria, who is also operationalising the facility.
Covering a land area of over 13,000 sqm, with seating capacity for over 1,000 users, the Ilorin Innovation Hub is arguably the biggest technology space of its kind in West Africa and considered a masterpiece of functional space and design architecture.
Speaking at the ceremony to mark the commencement of the training programme, Kwara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq who was represented by the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Dr. Mary Arinde, said through the partnership, IHS Nigeria and the Kwara State government would help stimulate the growth of the technological ecosystem in Kwara State and across Nigeria.
“Together, their vision is that the Ilorin Innovation Hub and its programmes will help create over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in Nigeria, focusing on digital skills, artificial intelligence, agricultural technology, and energy innovation,” Arinde said. Chief Operating Officer, IHS Nigeria, Kazeem Oladepo, said the state’s kind gesture in waiving Right of Way (RoW) charges for IHS, to enable it lay its fibre optic cable for connectivity, inspired the company to partner the state on the tech hub project.
