…unveils EDGE Center
By Chinenye Anuforo
Cisco, worldwide technology leader has unveiled plans to stimulate local innovation, support economic development and job creation in Nigeria with the launch of EDGE Centre for Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in Lagos.
Cisco joined forces with TD Africa, a leading provider of technology solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa, to establish the Centre which functions as an incubator, providing small and medium businesses with access to state-of-the-art Cisco communication and collaboration technology, alongside training and enablement programs.
In addition, SMMEs will be able to connect with global Cisco experts, who can support them develop business ideas and concepts in a digital world.
EDGE stands for “Experience, Design, GTM (Go to Market) and Earn” and has the objective to share business knowledge to stimulate innovation, help develop small and medium businesses in the digital age, speed up their entry to market and as a result create new jobs for the local economy. The centre hosts three key functions under one roof: it provides a space where local partners can showcase technologies and host client events; it brings resources and tools to local innovators and entrepreneurs to help them develop more secure, intelligent, and connected solutions; and offers training programs and education in the most advanced digital technologies.
“With its vibrant economy and young population, Nigeria stands to benefit from the promise of an inclusive digital future. Cisco is here to help the nation with digital skills development, innovation and incubation as well as cutting edge technologies. Today, we welcome Nigeria to the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration program and look forward to working with businesses, government, and academia, enabling them to take the lead in shaping the future and driving social and economic inclusion from the ground up,” said Fran Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer of Cisco.
Also speaking at the event, the Director General (DG), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inwa Abdullahi, explained the Centre is going to provide the citizens especially the Startups access to experience the latest technologies and also provide state-of-the-art facilities for them to design and build their prototype as well as access to mentorship and expert to take the product to market and earn money from it.
He said, “As a country, our greatest resources is not the oil we have but the talent, the skills, the youthful population, because these are the major resources in digital economy. And today, most of the big companies are riding over this talent. In Africa, we have our challenges, we don’t have the technology but we have the talent while the rest of the world need the talent to develop the technology. So it’s a yin and yang situation between talent and technology, because talent is the people component of the technology and our youthful population is a competitive advantage for us as a country and as a continent.”
The DG also pointed out the Centre will help the country build the economy and be part of the global digital economy as the aim of the Centre aligns perfectly well with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy.
The EDGE Centre is part of Cisco’s CDA program in Nigeria. CDA was founded in 2015 and has since evolved into programs in 49 countries, with over 1,500 active or completed projects – encompassing over two-thirds of the world’s population and 75 percent of global GDP. In May this year, under the scope of CDA, Cisco and NITDA signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the aim to support the nation’s digital transformation agenda and contribute towards digital skills training and development.
Chioma Chimere, Coordinating Managing Director of TD Africa mentioned, “Through this collaboration with Cisco, we aim to enable SMMEs scale rapidly by providing the tools, resources, and knowledge required to thrive in the digital age. By fostering skill retention and development, we can ensure that individuals are adequately empowered with the expertise to excel in the ever-evolving technology landscape. We are convinced that this partnership will not only drive GROWTH; our theme for the fiscal year, but also create new job opportunities, laying the foundation for a brighter and more inclusive future.”
A key pillar of the CDA program in Nigeria is Cisco Networking Academy, which currently trains over 120,000 students at 228 academies across the country. Cisco Networking Academy, one of the longest-standing IT skills-to-jobs programs in the world, that over the past years equipped over 400,000 people in Nigeria with the digital and cybersecurity skills.