Abuja Knowledge Exchange Tour
LOFTY INC/WEINNOVATION
The office visited Lofty Inc., a leading tech company in Lagos, to learn about their experience and exchange knowledge on how to develop the tech ecosystem in Ekiti State. During the visit, the team had a productive meeting with the management team at Lofty Inc., who shared their insights on how to support entrepreneurship and innovation in Nigeria.
The team from Ekiti State learned about Lofty Inc.'s commitment to protecting, creating, and supporting jobs across Nigeria.
Lofty Inc has surpassed its initial goal of creating one million jobs per year and has now created and supported over 2.7 million direct jobs and has a 6.7 million annual target. The team also learned about Lofty Inc.'s 60/40 employment policy, which prioritizes hiring 40% women.
The team from Ekiti State also had a chance to tour Lofty Inc.'s office space and see some of the initiatives they have implemented to support entrepreneurship and innovation. Lofty Inc. provides mentorship programs, access to funding, and networking opportunities for young entrepreneurs and innovators. The visit ended on a positive note, with the management team at Lofty Inc. expressing their interest in supporting the development of the tech ecosystem in Ekiti State. They promised to explore opportunities to partner with Ekiti State and provide support in the form of mentorship, funding, and access to networks.
Overall, the first visit to Lofty Inc. was a fruitful one, with the team from Ekiti State gaining valuable insights and knowledge on how to develop and support the tech ecosystem in the state, and Lofty Inc. expressing their willingness to support the state in achieving its goals.
WOOTLAB
The team led by Mr. Seun Fakuade, from Ekiti State, embarked on a tech tour to Abuja with the aim of exchanging knowledge with the tech ecosystem. The second location visited was Wootlab, a company focused on training, equipping and outsourcing.
The team was received by the CEO, Chioma Okoro, who shared the company's growth trajectory over the years. She emphasized that investing in training is critical to achieving their objectives. She also expressed her interest in state governments showing support for entities and companies looking to establish in their states.
In response to a question from Mr. Fakuade, Chioma shared that keeping trainees can be tricky, but they leverage on their personal experience by sharing life experiences and showing clear pathways to success.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education was also discussed. Nigeria was one of the countries that experienced a decline of about 40% in education during the pandemic.
However, the pandemic has also taught young people that they can work from anywhere and get paid without leaving the comforts of their local space.
Mr. Fakuade reiterated the plans of the State to stir the innovative minds in the state by introducing the mother of all policies the innovation policy, which is aimed at bringing together everything related to innovation in the state
The team also took a tour of the Wootlab office and was pleased to see the creative and innovative spaces all over the office. They engaged in conversations from art to foreign policies and other interesting topics.
The meeting ended with an agreement to work together and Chioma expressed her interest in being a part of Ekiti's tech developmental plans.
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