Owerri Tech Hub Launches: Exploring Innovative Opportunities in the South-East
Owerri Tech Hub has launched in the capital city of Imo State with a focus on providing a platform for mentorship, business support, tech community & networking and acceleration for the teeming youth population in south-east Nigeria.
The Technology space in Nigeria has gotten more interesting in recent years, with more technology hubs established in the country, giving hope for an improved knowledge economy and job creation opportunities.
In the same vein, the establishment of the Owerri Tech Hub aligns with the thought of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who opined that the future of Nigeria is not oil or solid minerals but about technology, innovation…and that tech innovation is all about highly skilled people, entrepreneurship spirit and a supporting ecosystem of government, investors, mentors and global collaboration.
According to the Chairman of the Board for the Hub, Chief Mrs. Betty Ayanwu –Akeredolu, it will focus on grooming the talent pool from the Imo State University (IMSU), Federal Polytechnic, Nekede; Federal University of Technology Owerri and other institutions across the south-east. Owerri Tech Hub also wants to inspire technology-minded individuals to form clusters in the region that can collectively shape Nigeria and by extension the continent in technology innovation.
The hub is also dedicated to the socio-economic welfare of people in Owerri and environs by creating opportunities for gainful employment via empowerment of youths, developing of life skills through innovation, incubation and acceleration of startups and networking events—meet-ups, fireside chats etc. It would also organize annual Hackathon—Owerri Tech Hackathon—where the best innovators/startup founders will be accelerated and go home with funds and the BRECAN Hackathon focused on innovation, solutions, awareness and other ideas around the fight against Breast Cancer.
Operators of the hub have also explained that partner-led initiatives and partnerships with OEM’s for training on blockchain, data science, Artificial intelligence and augmented reality will be a part of the activities at the Owerri Tech Hub. The hub will launch with an Artificial Intelligence and Data Science Bootcamp in partnership with 115Garage and CovenLabs this November.
