News Highlights:
- The Anambra State Government has officially announced the inaugural Anambra Innovation Week 2024 (AIW 2024), scheduled for November 25-29 in Awka, the state capital.
- AIW 2024 will feature a range of activities including exhibitions, competitions, and the highlight Battle4Solutions, which offers over N100 million in cash prizes for startups addressing critical issues.
The Anambra State Government has announced the inaugural Anambra Innovation Week 2024 (AIW 2024), set to take place from November 25-29 in Awka, the Anambra State capital, reports Digital TimesNG.
Speaking on Tuesday at the Solution Innovation District (SID) press conference in Awka, Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser to the Anambra State Governor on Innovation and Business Incubation said this landmark event, themed “Creating the Future of Africa, Now,” will gather top innovators, tech leaders, policymakers, and investors to spotlight Africa’s expanding technology ecosystem.
Led by Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, Governor of Anambra State, this initiative, Okoli said, underscores the state’s ambition to become Nigeria’s digital and creative capital, noting that as part of this vision, the Solution Innovation District (SID), a project by the Anambra State Government, is building a digital ecosystem for tech talent, startups, and enterprises.
She listed key achievements of the SID to include the training of over 25,000 youths in advanced tech skills through initiatives like LevelUp Anambra and Code Anambra, alongside a dedicated Teen Digital Bootcamp to nurture young talent.
“Our mandate encompasses nurturing the “Anambra Digital Tribe,” supporting the startup ecosystem, incubating promising ventures, fostering research commercialization, and helping businesses leverage technology to scale.
“Through programmes like LevelUp Anambra and Code Anambra, we have trained over 25,000 youths on various deep technology skills preparing them for jobs in the global market, and many of them secure such jobs daily, while our SID Teen Digital Bootcamp cultivates a new generation of talented teens poised for future global impact,” she said.
Okoli disclosed that additionally, the Anambra State Startup Law, a domestication of the Nigerian Startup Act, is underway to boost an environment that nurtures creativity, entrepreneurship, and sustainable economic growth.
She stated that Governor Soludo’s administration has also invested in digital infrastructure, laying over 2,000 km of fibre optic cables across the state to enhance last-mile internet connectivity. Additionally, a 13.7-hectare plot of land currently home to the Government House, is being transformed into the permanent site for the SID, envisioned as Anambra’s “Silicon Valley.”
Okoli further disclosed that in the meantime, SID operates from a temporary centre equipped with a digital skills lab, robotics lab, coworking spaces, training halls, high-speed internet, and a productive environment for startups and tech enthusiasts.
She stated that Anambra Innovation Week aims to become a premier annual tech event, gathering industry leaders, digital experts, entrepreneurs, and academics to promote innovation in the continent, while underscoring SID’s vision of making Anambra the Silicon Valley of Africa.
“This year, over the five-day event, we will bring together innovators, policymakers, Top Tech CEOs, industry, entrepreneurs, investors, digital experts, and academics from Africa and beyond.
“AIW will feature exhibitions, showcases, competitions, games, keynotes, high-level panels, fireside chats, workshops, masterclasses, and a TradeNovation Fair for SMEs, all designed to advance technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship across the continent,” she announced.
Highlight of the event, according to the Special Adviser, is Battle4Solutions, a competitive platform offering over N100 million in cash prizes to Nigerian startups tackling issues in sectors like digital healthcare, renewable energy, fintech, education, e-commerce, agritech, environment, and more.
Applications for the competition are now open at www.innovationweek.anambrastate.gov.ng for government ministries, agencies, academic institutions, startups, innovators, and creators from within Anambra and across Nigeria.
She announced that in the lead-up to the event, updates on speakers, partners, and programme highlights will be shared across Solution Innovation District’s social media platforms and the AIW website.
Okoli was accompanied to the press conference by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor.