Global Alliance Africa further builds on the successes of the Ekiti Innovation Advisory Group in Nigeria

The Ekiti Innovation Advisory Group was designed to support local and regional innovation in Ekiti and part of its pilot Place-Based Innovation programme in Nigeria. With 15 key players in local academia, industry and government, the Group will assist Global Alliance Africa with the successful implementation of the recently launched Place-Based Innovation Action Plan.

Speaking about the current state of the Ekiti ecosystem, Innovation Advisory Board Chairperson, Joel Ogunsola, who is also the CEO of Emerging Communities, said that Ekiti is still a young ecosystem which has the potential to grow and come up with global solutions. However, for this to happen, it needs assistance such as that of the Board.

Some universities have very developed Science, Technology Engineering (STEM) courses, and they account for the talent pools available in Ekiti. But currently, there isn’t any major technology employer available, to cater for the talent pool, which leads to these innovators going elsewhere to grow their innovative solutions, says Ogunsola.

Our role is to ensure that we provide a platform, with the support of Global Alliance Africa, that is conducive for all entrepreneurs. Therefore, KTN acts as a catalyst and creates awareness of the role that innovation plays in community building.

Beyond some of the challenges that the Group looks to solve around agriculture, there is now a broader awareness of the role that innovation and technology play and driving sustainable development for the Ekiti community. Agriculture is one of the historic features of the Ekiti community, and it is an entry point for the Group, to address all challenges that exist in the tech ecosystem, such as Edutech, Health tech and even Fintech.

According to Ogunsola, the Group brings a dynamic approach to addressing the Action Plan as the Group Members consist of individuals that have different backgrounds ranging from the government, private sector, investors, women, men, and even innovators which aids in providing overall community guidance.

Members of the Group are:

Omowumi Ogunrotimi, CEO at Gender Mobile

Prof. Ayo Ajayi, Lecturer at Afe Babalola University, Ekiti State

Gbenga Babs-Babata, Technical Assistant at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development

Bode Adetoyi, Honorable Commissioner for the Ministry of Agriculture

Tiwaoluwa Omope, CEO at Christore Hub

Sola Matthew, CEO at Go Global Solutions

Tumininu Adedeji, Executive Director at Balm in Gilead Foundation for Sustainable Development

Simioluwa Ale, President of the Ekiti Youth Arise

Dr. Nuka Kale, CEO at The Gold Standard Empire

Oluwaseyi Ebenezer, CEO/Founder of Triple G Eco Revival Solutions

Dr Tope Aroge, Secretary General at the Industrial Cassava Stakeholders Association of Nigeria

Adara Tosin, CEO at Glimpse Nigeria

Sarah Olabisi, Principal Agribusiness Consultant at Fronteir Harvesters

Olabintan Odunola, Team Lead at The Health City

Global Alliance Africa Knowledge Transfer Manager for Nigeria, Joshua Adedeji concludes:

This is a six-year project which will end in March 2025; therefore this indicates to us that the Board has already been making strides in the ecosystem to connect, scale and assist entrepreneurs as part of the Place-Based Innovation Framework. As Global Alliance Africa, we do not influence the work that should be done by the Board because we lack first-hand experience of the Ekiti ecosystem. Therefore, we want to see the Board take full ownership of this project.

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About Global Alliance Africa

The Global Alliance Africa project is a six-year project funded by UK Aid through Innovate UK (GCRF) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

For more information about the project, please visit https://ktn-uk.org/programme/africa.