by Yek Keme
We are now living in an age of networked intelligence, where young people are not only challenging but also disrupting the foundations of conventional wisdom with the power of technology. These breed of techies don’t need any business card to introduce themselves to anybody because their works and inventions are shaping the way we live our lives today.
Work is fun for them as they teach us with their disruptive innovations how to ease up our endeavours. They have become masters of their own destinies so much that they don’t need any one to give them direction. They don’t know the destination themselves, but they understand that with technology as the driver, they’ll arrive safely. Funny enough, they are taking the rest of us along on this journey.
Many refer to these genius risk takers as tech entrepreneurs, but I find it safe to tag them “Millionaires without Business cards.” Truth is, this is an epoch of opportunities and just about anybody irrespective of background or any impediment can become a millionaire without business card. The only qualification required is something within your reach which is your determination and vision. How far you can see?
Recently, I had a conversation with Bosun Tijani, the Co-Creation Hub (C-CHub) Boss via social media(twitter). A fine gentle man blazing the trail in the Nigerian Tech space who never for once thinks less of how (mobile) Technology can and would transform Nigeria . Interestingly, he shared with me his insights as to the path technology will take in Nigeria and probably the rest of Africa. His strong belief that tech is at the core of every society is indeed unwavering and for our society to truly tap into the benefits of technology, Bosun advocates , ‘‘we should invest in the cluster to serve as our nucleus for the maker movement.” He stresses the need to adopt this module if Nigeria plans to encourage smarter innovations.
Already, Innovations and tech Start-ups are springing up within the Yaba area of Lagos which fits typically as the model of clusters Bosun speaks of. The argument, however, remains that if there is ever gonna be a ‘‘maker movement’’, the proliferation of clusters such as Yaba becomes imperative. As these are the places that will give birth to many of these rare breeds – the ” millionaires without business cards.”
Nigeria’s tech space already has to its credit innovations such as Pushcv, Tuteria, Paga, Budgit, Wecyclers, and 500 shops, among others. They’re just about some of the smartest ideas strokes shaping life and business through technology. However, what is left is to create better enabling environment through building more clusters. Tech is the future today and no serious nation should treat it with levity.
Besides, study reveals the trend at which technology is revolutionising communications. If you are reading this piece, fact is, you are probably one of the over 70% users doing so via platforms like smartphones, tablets, and laptops. To explain the power and pace of mobile technology, there is no better way than revealing that even “The Apollo”- the rocket that took the first men out of the earth- can not match, in computing power, the smartphone you are holding at the moment. It can’t even tweet from the space! What a time to be alive!
The beauty of it all is that people can from obscurity rise to stardom through the power of the “Internet of Things.” It’s now a world where unknown names are becoming instant celebrities just because of their unique contributions on the internet. Again, if we jealously claim that this is the best time to be alive, can we for once imagine what our world would look like within the next 10 years?
To this end, thus, as technology infrastructure expands in Nigeria and the rest of Africa and Startups continue to evolve via creating solutions and meeting the needs of the time more millionaires will emerge. This is in tandem with studies revealing that more brand new tech millionaires pegged within the ages of 20 and 40 years old would emerge as innovations grow. We can only imagine what the coming decade will look like? Against this backdrop, I got one question to ask : “Will you be among these millionaires without a business cards?”
Yek Keme is interest in culture, technology, and governance. Email him at [email protected].
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.
