Cross River State Governor Bassey Otu has charged officials of two United States ICT firms, Silicon Valley and Innovate Africa Foundation, to take advantage of the large pool of the state’s young and active population to establish ICT hubs in the state.
Otu gave the charge when officials of the two ICT firms paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Calabar yesterday.
He stated that with the increasing advancement in information technology for solutions, his administration was willing to support ICT development to enable the state thrive.
“A technology-friendly government fosters an environment that supports innovation in several ways, which include research and development, encouraging industry partnerships, and most importantly, creating policies and regulations that incentivise innovation.
“God has blessed our state with intelligent people in the area of Information Technology.
“What we lack are proper ICT hubs for our young and active people to take advantage of. We would love to partner with you in establishing these ICT hubs for proper training of Crossriverians,” he said.
The Silicon Valley Product Group (SVPG) is an ICT based company created to share senior level experience and best practices with technology companies and offering services to government as well as training.
Also at Channel View Hotel conference Hall, Calabar, where the ICT experts met with thousands of secondary school students from Aunty Margaret’s Secondary School and others, the chairman/founder, Africa Innovative Foundation Mr. Christian Idiodi, said he came with the team of ICT experts to impact knowledge and help build ICT solutions.
Edodi said he and his team had several trainings and seminars aimed at encouraging ICT-based solutions for Africans, expressing their readiness to leverage on the governor’s invitation to set up a shop in the state.
