The Gombe State Government is developing technology-based solutions to boost the economy of the state, with the hosting of the first-ever competition among youths, who would use ICT to find solutions to the challenges facing the state.
The two-day event tagged Hackathon, was sponsored by the Onyx Investment Advisory Ltd, in collaboration with the Gombe State government, coming ahead of the 2nd Gombe State Investment Summit in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Onyx Group, Mrs Aisha Bako the Hackathon brings together the talented young minds, where they use their knowledge of ICT and technology to find solutions to the environmental problems of Gombe State.
“A Hackathon is where these young people come together and you tell them, I have a problem and they sit down and give you a technology-based solution to your problem. So what they are developing now, they are developing a technology-based solution. And today’s topic is on sustainable environment and sustainable solutions for Gombe State,” Mrs. Bako said.
She said the outcome would be deployed to take care of sustainability not just in Gombe State, but Nigeria as a whole.
She said one of the outcomes of the Gombe State Investment Summit last year was that ICT stood out among 46 sectors where Gombe had the comparative advantage for investors after a sector scan was conducted.
“Out of those 46 sectors, we then carried out filters that would show Gombe State is a priority and is better for an investor to invest. Those filters gave us top five sectors and ICT is one of those top five sectors,” said Mrs. Bako.
She said the findings meant that Gombe came out as the best place for job creation, skills development and opportunities in ICT.
According to Mrs. Bako, although the topic for the competition was ‘Sustainable Environment and Sustainable Solution’, the essence of the Hackathon was to prove to the investor that Gombe State was leading in the human capital for ICT, Technology and innovation.
She said it would fit into the investment summit because it would show the investors the kinds of solutions available to young minds in the state.
“This will now help technology-based investors to start paying attention to Gombe and see that they can develop commercial solutions in partnership with young people in Gombe State,” said Mrs. Bako.
She said the programme was conceived in Gombe State, with over 50 participants, who were drawn from both Gombe State and other parts of the country.
An Associate Professor of Computer Network Security at the Gombe State University, Mr. Bala Modi, acknowledged that the driving force of major economies in the world was now digital skills and as such commended the efforts put in place by the organizers, which had provided an avenue for the youths to exhibit their talents.
He called on government to invest more in digital skills, which was providing a veritable tool for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy.
According to him, if the ICT knowledge of the youths was used, the benefits would be self-sustaining for Gombe State, because technology was being deployed by some countries to solve various challenges facing them.
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