For over two decades, the Computer Village, a technology cluster in the Ikeja area of Lagos, has served the technology product needs of Nigeria and West Africa by extension.
So when news broke on Tuesday of the Lagos state government's decision to move the market from Ikeja to an ICT Park in Katangowa, it was met with mixed reactions.
According to the official announcement, primary reasons for the proposed relocation include environmental degradation, housing stock deficit and traffic congestion plaguing the Ikeja axis.
For a market which sprung up on its own, without any involvement from government, this raises a number of questions:
- Is the "Computer Village" more of a concept than a geographical location?
- If it is more of a concept, could relocating to a new and unfamiliar location affect its popularity?
- If it is more of a geographical location, could it meet the same fate as the Tejuosho and Idumota markets?
- Is it government's place to be directly involved in the creation and development of clusters?
It remains to be seen how this new move will pan out. What history has taught us, however, is that government cannot successfully pull off clusters of any kind (cue Tinapa), they just sort of happen.
This week on Techpoint
Watch a video version of this newsletter or read on below
How whistleblowing can be beneficial to SMEs. A few months back, the federal government of Nigeria started a whistleblowing policy to reward Nigerians who expose cases of misappropriation of public funds.
A notable resultant of this was the $43m recovered from an apartment in Ikoyi. With the extra cash in the vault, there is a legitimate concern about how the government will invest it. One possible avenue is in the area of SME development.
Reviewing the 60-day "ease of doing business" plan. On the 21st of February, 2017, the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), chaired by the then Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, flagged of its 60-day plan to reform the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Be the smartest in the room
Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.
The 60-day period elapsed on the 21st of April and a report card was published by the council. We examine these reforms differently and highlight their importance to the general public at the moment.
Speaking of doing business... People go into entrepreneurship for different reasons, whether it is from the desire to become their own bosses or to get away from their unfulfilling corporate jobs or the drive to solve an existing problem.
If you are new to the game, you should ask yourself these 10 questions to help you know if you are making the right decision.
We are hosting the Founder and CEO of MainOne, Funke Opeke, on Techpoint Ask Me Anything Live Sessions (#TPAMA) this coming Thursday, May 4, 2017. Here's how you can participate.
Should businesses run by religious organisations be tax-free? Still on the matter of doing business, last week, Vodacom announced a partnership with Sembe Church in South Africa to distribute the company’s products and services to the church’s 6.7 million members.
This brings to mind a growing trend of religious organisations in Africa venturing into business on the side. Techpoint's Titilola Oludimu explores the resulting tax implications.
Nigerian tech companies are missing out on the billion-naira betting industry. With the advent and proliferation of technology within the sector, there is a silent revolution going on in the betting industry and Nigerian tech companies are missing out.
Startup Weekly
Every weekday at 9AM (West African Time), we feature up and coming startups looking to break into the Nigerian tech scene.
This week’s featured startups
- easyPR — get the right PR strategy at affordable rates
- Moovedin — access real estate and property from the comfort of your home
- LegitCar — verify legitimacy of a car before purchase
- DokiLink — find and book verified Nigerian doctors instantly
- Startit — access smart solutions needed to build and groom your business
Consumer Weekly
Reviewing the Motorola Moto G4 Play. The Motorola Moto G4 Play, which was released in the fourth quarter of 2016, recently started selling in Nigeria for quite a while now. Find out if it is good value for your Naira.
This post is an extract from our weekly newsletter. If you would like to receive summaries like this every week in your email box, you can subscribe here.
