Eyeing $180bn digital economy with innovation hub

The Ilorin Innovation Hub in Kwara State recently kicked off incubation and acceleration programmes as the IHS Nigeria and the state government hope to inspire a new generation of tech enthusiasts who would be relevant in the present-day digital era. The Kwara State Government kicked off the innovation hub in its bid to turn the […]

The Ilorin Innovation Hub in Kwara State recently kicked off incubation and acceleration programmes as the IHS Nigeria and the state government hope to inspire a new generation of tech enthusiasts who would be relevant in the present-day digital era.

The Kwara State Government kicked off the innovation hub in its bid to turn the state into another Silicon Valley and the hub of Unicorns but got stalled at a point until IHS Nigeria stepped in to complete the project.

The partnership between the state government and IHS Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Towers, the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure, came about after the government slashed right of way (RoW) levies for telecommunication firms to lay fibre cables in the state.

The state reduced the levy from N5,500 per linear metre to N1 per kilometre of fibre; described then as the second-lowest right of way rate in Nigeria after Kaduna State with the intention to encourage more telecommunication firms and deepen connectivity in the state.

Daily Trust reports that the decision to take up the construction of the hub was a corporate intervention by IHS Nigeria as a payback for the generous reduction in RoW levies which the state government implemented.

Imperative of innovation hub

With Africa’s digital economy projected to hit $180bn in 2025 contributing 5.2 per cent to the region’s GDP, according to IFC& Google, Nigeria, according to experts, must position itself through the development of critical manpower resources to tap from the growing digital ecosystem.

If Silicon Valley is known today as the global centre for technology and innovation in the United States, one indisputable fact is that it didn’t just start today. The United States is home to many tech companies that have today become indispensable tools for human interaction and connectivity.

Brands like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Google, among others, are just few examples of how technological innovation can change the fortune of a community in this digital era.

In Africa, the Yaba Technological Hub in Nigeria has become Africa’s Silicon Valley which has helped in raising a generation of techpreneurs, experts, innovators and entrepreneurs of different kinds. They not only contribute to economic development through their innovations but help in tackling youth restiveness and youth unemployment.

This is the vision behind the Ilorin Innovation Hub designed to support startups, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts with co-working spaces, skills and training programmes, incubation and acceleration programmes and access to funding.

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.

The facility has been designed and built as an ecosystem to help nurture creative talents, drive technological innovations, entrepreneurship, and overall economic growth across Kwara State in particular, and Nigeria in general.

The IHS Nigeria which invested close to $2m believes it is the investment for the future which would catalyse the state into the hub of Unicorns.

Mohamad Darwish, CEO of IHS Nigeria, stated that if Unicorns are emerging globally, “Why not from Ilorin, Kwara State?”

He said with state-of-the-art infrastructure, co-working spaces, accelerator programmes, and access to mentorship and funding, this hub will serve as a launchpad for groundbreaking ideas that will shape the future of Nigeria’s digital economy.

This is why the company has partnered with two programme managers, Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) and Future Africa, in driving the implementation of high-impact initiatives within the space.

“Through tailored training, incubation, and accelerator programs, we aim to cultivate a thriving tech ecosystem that generates over 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the coming years across digital skills, agricultural technology, and energy innovation.

“As a company that has always been at the forefront of digital infrastructure development and Nigeria’s backbone of digital possibilities, IHS Nigeria is proud to support initiatives that drive inclusive economic growth and deepen the digital economy. We see the Ilorin Innovation Hub as a beacon of possibility—one that will unlock doors for thousands of young Nigerians eager to transform their ideas into viable businesses,” the CEO said.

Kazeem Oladepo, Senior Vice President/Chief Operating Officer (COO), said the hub would support young people’s talents and ideas to flourish, adding that it would provide the opportunities that the young people are desperately looking for to be gainfully employed.

He commended Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrasaq for his concern about the future by waving the right of way levies which spurred the IHS Nigeria to take up the project.

The co-founder of Futures Africa, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, said Kwara State has become an ecosystem that has produced many tech experts and innovators that have developed other lands. He said the hub has provided a veritable tool to change the narrative and turn Kwara into another Silicon Valley.

He stated that Futures Africa working with CCHub would be designing and implementing sustainable models aimed at transforming the state into an ecosystem that supports innovations, builds businesses and solutions that can be applied in different fields like the agricultural value chain as the state has a great number of agrarian communities, the energy sector and the ICT.

“We are going to be working with entrepreneurs to build local, scalable solutions in the agricultural value chain, in energy and ICT. I want to pay very special attention to the various businesses and innovations that would come from here within the next 10 years,” he said.

CEO of the Ilorin Innovation Hub, Temi Kolawole, explained that the hub would have start-ups and entrepreneurship programmes both at the beginner, middle and advanced levels. He stated that it would leverage the existing entrepreneurship and innovation programmes of the federal government. Already, he stated that the hub has commenced some training programmes for youths across communities in Kwara State, assuring that the various segments of the state’s youth population would be carried along.

Executive Chairman of Kwara State Inland Revenue Service (KWIRS), Folashade Omoniyi, said the state decided to wave the right of way charge because of its concern for the future as the innovation hub would have greater impact than the revenue that would have been generated from the RoW levies.

Ahead of the commissioning of the hub later in the year, expectations are already high as to the impact of the innovation hub in turning the state into another epicenter of technology where innovation, creativity, and talent abound.