The ongoing Ilorin Innovation Hub project gained significant momentum over the weekend when the Kwara State Government signed an agreement with global telecommunications giant, IHS Towers.
Ilorin Innovation Hub, a state-of-the-art innovation hub initiated by the Kwara State Government, aims to create an enabling environment for young people, facilitate digital skills learning and support business development through innovation and start-up entrepreneurship.
In a speech shortly after signing the agreement on Saturday in Ilorin, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described it as a “partnership with enormous mutual benefits.”
He said: “IHS offers technical and organizational support for its operation, maintenance and management in exchange for certain benefits such as, but not limited to, the use and operation of the center to provide IHS training and ancillary programs, as well as branding rights to the items.”
The governor was quick to add that while his administration recognizes the importance of public-private partnerships (PPP) in guiding government policy, it will also protect the state’s interests.
The innovation center’s managing director, Temi Kolawole, said 33 million pieces of software would be needed to be developed globally, giving young people who benefited from the center the certainty of employment opportunities.
IHS Towers CEO, Mohammed Darwish,
commended Kwara State’s digital policy, particularly the free right-of-way for the installation of fiber optic cables, which he said is crucial in facilitating the development of the digital economy in the state.
