Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, Founder of Data Science Nigeria and Chief Executive Officer of DSN AI, has said that the Art of Technology 5.0 conference is a battle cry that allows citizens to see possibilities and galvanize the movement on how to leverage technology to create multiplying economic effects for Lagos State and the country.
Adekanmbi, a keynote speaker at the just concluded AOT 5.0 conference made the statement while giving his keynote address.
“The Art of Technology 5.0 is strategic, borne out of a clear logical understanding of the drivers of the economy and how an intentional investment in different levers of the economy can create multiplier effects for Lagos State and Nigeria”, Adekanmbi said.
According to him, emerging technologies can be applied to drive the creative sector in Lagos and Nigeria.
“Currently, the creative sector is only about 2.5% of the total GDP of Nigeria but with the application of emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and Augmented Reality, we can increase the economic productivity and output, thereby creating more opportunities in the creative industry, which will ultimately create jobs, bring foreign exchange that impacts our GDP”.
This year’s AOT conference therefore brings to our attention that the creative economy is huge and we need to focus on bringing the right amount of tech to bolster the sector and reap its rewards.
Also, Cobhams Asuquo, music producer and musician, and a keynote speaker at the AOT 5.0 conference opined that building our technology and digital platforms has a huge role to play in growing and sustaining the creative economy we generate.
“We need our own tech platforms to grow our creative economy”, Mr. Asuquo stated
Despite the challenges in Africa’s creative economy, we need purposeful and intentional policies to accomplish the results we desire. He therefore urged creators to create, policymakers to formulate policies and all stakeholders to do the work to ensure Nigeria’s creative economy is buoyant.
Hannatu Musawa, Minister of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy also added at the conference that digital platforms will be established to serve as hubs for artists, creators and industry professionals to collaborate and gain exposure to a global audience.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of Destination 2030, a national strategy aimed at positioning Nigeria as a global hub for arts, culture and creativity”, she said.
The vision is to accelerate the transformation of the arts, culture and creative economies into a primary cause of economic growth and shared prosperity. The minister also added that a national program will be launched to provide training and support for artists and creators using technology to enhance their art. Workshops, mentorship programs, and state-of-the-art facilities will emerge from this program for the creativity community to provide the necessary skills and tools to thrive on the digital planet.
Art of Technology Lagos (AOT) is an annual tech conference curated by the Eko Innovation Centre, and sponsored by the Lagos State Government – the economic and technology epicentre of Nigeria. Highlights of the 2-day conference explored synergies between creativity and technology; collaborative networking and engagement with industry stakeholders and experts who unearthed strategies for steering the creative economy of the state to greater heights, as well as empowerment of creatives by equipping them with tools to navigate the evolving landscape.
With the fifth edition of the conference, Eko Innovation Center, the curators of the conference have yet again demonstrated its commitment to solving the most pressing development and institutional challenges with technology and innovation.
