The Chairman of Zenith Bank, Jim Ovia, has said disruptive technology and innovation will play a huge role in repositioning Nigeria for economic prosperity. Speaking at a tech fair organised by the bank, the chairman cited trends, such as increase in technology-driven solutions, and their deployment for accomplishing business and domestic tasks, as the new order that must be embraced by businesses that want to remain relevant.
He further stressed that Zenith Bank has chosen to sponsor and incubate new ideas with potential to deliver solutions that will drive productivity and generate revenues for Nigerians.
The banker explained, “We believe in the years to come that we will build our own Silicon Valley as we sponsor more innovations and creativities whether in the area of entertainment, technology, agriculture, amongst others.”
“That is why we will encourage our youths to come up with various technologies and innovations that they have that is disruptive and will change the old ways of doing things to embrace new ways, which is the direction of the world economy. These include artificial intelligence and various forms of innovations,” he added.
The Zenith Bank tech fair was themed ‘Future Forward’. The fair, held at the Landmark Event Centre, showcased new technologies that will transform the way people work and live generally.
Google’s Country Director for Nigeria, Juilet Ehimuan-Chiazor was also present at the fair. She highlighted the speed of innovation in the areas of mobile and cloud technology, and their roles in boosting operations across every sector.
According to Ehimuan-Chiazor, “We are seeing cassava farmers in part of Africa using machine learning to detect diseases. This is made available to them through an interface which is the mobile phone, a device that almost everyone has access to. We are seeing advancements in cloud technology, security systems and Internet of Things. Beyond connectivity among people and connectivity among devices, there are over 17billion connected devices on the planet today”.
