TeXcellence 2023: Charting Growth Paths for Technology and Innovation, Enhancing Economic Growth
TeXcellence powered by CWG plc, the largest Technology Leadership Conference in Sub-Saharan Africa, brought together visionaries and innovators for its highly anticipated second edition at The Landmark Center on October 12.
This year’s event continued its legacy of being the hub of thought leadership, presenting an agenda brimming with transformative ideas. From engaging panel discussions to interactive sessions, Texcellence provided a platform for the exchange of groundbreaking insights.
The conference also highlighted the imperatives and ways in which technology and innovation can help drive the nation’s economy.
Distinguished speakers such as Adewale Adeyipo, GCEO, CWG, Gbolahan Joshua, ED/Group COO, FCMB Group; Magdi El-Azhari, Regional Director, MEA Vericash; Shoyinka Shodunke, CIO, MTN Nigeria; Oluwaseun Solanke, President, CIO Club Africa; Chukwuyemisi Isichei, Investment Associate, Consonance Investment Managers; Emmanuel Babalola, CEO of Bundle; Lotanna Julian, CEO of Advancly; Sunday Imohimi, Regional Growth Manager, Binance; Bode Abifarin, COO, Flutterwave; Damilare Mesimo, Head, ARM Lab & Venture Building, ARM HoldCo; Jacob Stanley, Global Fintech Executive & CEO, Zest; Justin Ziegler, Co-Founder and COO, Juice; Tunde Abagun, Sales Lead, West, East, Central Africa, Nutanix; Afolabi Sobande, COO, CWG; Oluwafiropo Tobi Ogundare, Territory Sales Lead – West Africa And Mauritius, Red Hat; Adenike Agbakosi, Head of Partners, Glovo Nigeria, and Mqondisi Skosana, Senior Territory Sales Executive Africa, Cloudera, and other luminaries shared their wisdom on topics ranging from digital transformation in banking to the evolution of the telecommunications industry and more.
The Innovation Showcase from companies like Dell Technologies, Nutanix, Vericash, Redhat, Cloudera, Hitatchi, Veeam, fifthlab, Africa Data Centers, was a major highlight, unveiling cutting-edge technologies with the potential to reshape industries. Attendees witnessed firsthand the transformative power of these innovations.
The event not only fueled knowledge but also fostered a sense of community among professionals, offering the unique opportunity to connect, collaborate, and become part of the Texcellence tribe.
Speaking at the TeXcellence Conference two with the theme “Innovating for the Future,” organized by CWG Plc, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Mr. Adewale Adeyipo, mentioned innovation as one of the drivers of the economy.
He called on Nigeria to leverage technology trade to enhance its economic growth, even as he emphasized the need for the nation to start producing for export.
“In Nigeria, as an economic driver, we must leverage technology trade to enhance the economic growth. We must emphasize the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as the national strategic plan.
“Of course, evidence strongly suggests and supports that SMEs development is very critical as the portent force to economic growth. We must build for the purpose to export and we must create platforms to address this,” he said.
He said in the past 32 years, CWG Plc has been at the forefront of pioneering transformational innovation in the technology landscape in Nigeria.
“It is not just enough for anybody to wake up and say there is this creativity am running into it. I think CWG has been the pioneer when it comes to transformational innovation in the technology landscape in Nigeria.
“We have been in existence for over 32 years. A lot of the organizations that come after us, some of them got the blueprint from the roadmap the CWG followed.
“We have got a lot of things right, we have got some not right. But at least we gave people the courage to be able to start and we are seeing that level of growth in the technology landscape in Nigeria. This is just the beginning. What is doable in the space in terms of viability of this market is huge and we don’t even have enough organization yet to be able to capture what is available,” Adeyipo added.
While calling on Nigerians to take advantage of the opportunity existing in the technology space, he said “If you look at the economy like ours, you will see that the number of startups that they have within the technology space compared to the population and the need of the country, is adequate, so there will be need for more people in the space.”
Assuring on continuous improvement in the nation’s technology landscape, he called on stakeholders to be conscious of the fact that they are in business to provide impactful services through innovation.
In an interview with journalists, the Board Chairman of the Company, Mr. Phi Phillip Obioha, said there is a need for Africa to focus on innovation because that is the only way to ensure business sustainability, adding that innovation is finding new and efficient ways for doing things.
Speaking on regulation, he said regulation is also important because it helps in keeping the operators and innovators in check and called on operators in the tech space to ensure compliance with relevant regulations
Speaking on the importance of investment in research and development, the Chief Technical Officer of the Company, Ireti Yusuf, in his contribution called on government and corporate entities to invest in the people by providing necessary infrastructures such as the building of schools, vocational training centres, technology libraries etc that will help youths to acquire knowledge because knowledge is very key.
“When we have the right structure in place, I bet you we can move mountains. We can also leverage what other people are doing. For instance, we are not the people that build Artificial Intelligence (AI), and we are not the ones that developed some of the programmes we are using today but we are benefitting from them. So for me, the best investment is the investment in our people,” Mr. Yusuf said.
The Chief Operating Officer of CWG, Afolabi Sobande, speaking briefly on the Company and the rationale behind the TeXcellence, he said “At CWG we take pride as a leading technology provider in Nigeria. As a leading provider of IT services across Africa, CWG operates a firmly established partnership network that connects businesses, enterprises, governments, customers, and consumers, utilizing value-added services to help them efficiently drive processes, and improve across their respective activities.
“Technology is evolving and the speed technology is moving is very fast thus we need some innovation, we believe that there is a need for innovation and that is why innovation is at the forefront of our discussion also emphasizing the need for partnership because nobody has all the knowledge.
“TeXcellence 2.0 is a platform to create awareness for innovation, ensuring that we speak about it so that Fintech and new organizations in the technology space will understand the relevance of their roles in the growth of the sector and the general economy.
He called on African startups to embrace innovation that aims at solving problems noting that “If every organization embraces technology, Africa will be at the world stage.”
In his keynote address titled “Nigeria’s Tech-Driven Future: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges,” the Director-General/CEO, the National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi listed the importance of technology to the advancement of global economies.
He said the future is driven by technology, adding that today technology has transformed our lives, disrupting the traditional industry and permeating every sphere of human activities.
Inuwa called on Nigeria to be deliberate in creating their future through technological innovations.“We need to create the future by using technology. You cannot forecast the future but you create it.”
Seun Koshoedo, Head of Brands, Marketing and Communication and chairperson of the event planning team, shared his enthusiasm: “Texcellence 2023 exceeded our expectations, fostering meaningful conversations and laying the groundwork for future innovations.”
As the curtains close on Texcellence 2023, the stage is set for an even more immersive and impactful Texcellence 2024. Stay tuned for updates and join us next year as we continue to lead the way in exploring the frontiers of business and technology.
Texcellence is a leading tech conference that brings together industry leaders, innovators, and thought leaders to explore the latest trends and innovations in technology and business. The conference provides a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration.
