Abuja- Mr Michael Oluwagbemi, the Chairman, Afri-Labs Networks of Incubators and Accelerators, says government patronage of local inventions will enhance the growth of the inventors, create jobs and boost the economy.
Oluwagbemi, a specialist in human resources development said this on Wednesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Abuja.
According to him, if government patronises start-ups or new innovators, they will be challenged to improve on their creativity, which will in turn reduce unemployment and boost the economy.
“The biggest spender in the economy is the government, when start-ups are shut away from being able to sell to the government; they can not to grow properly.
“If government is 80 per cent spender in the economy and not buying from start-ups, they cannot grow under such condition which will cut them off from creating more jobs and generating revenue to the economy,” he said.
Oluwagbemi said that lack of warranties, quality management as well as project management problems were among reasons that hindered government from patronising new inventors.
“I think the reasons why government and corporations are not buying from start-ups are because of the warranty issues, quality management as well as project management problems.
“A lot of start-ups founders do not have corporate or technical knowledge, even though they have a lot of passion about their ingenuity.
“Many young people need to be exposed to more systemic ways of doing things, of thinking about problems, proffering solution because passion alone cannot make up for capacity,” he said.
However, the development specialist said that the challenges of government and innovators could be surmounted through innovation hubs.
“Hubs can stand in the gaps and then bridge that gap by bidding on behalf of their start-ups by actually going into public procurements on behalf of the start ups.
“Start ups cannot easily surmount the existing conditions to break into the markets by themselves, they need to be member of hubs, and that will give them the advantage to meet those conditions.
“Because hubs are a lot more established, they are connected to schools, they have big donors and World Bank, big multi-lateral institutions, government will listen to them.
“They have history, they are going to be around for three, four, five years, and there is a little more comfort there. Government can listen to them,” he said.
Oluwagbemi therefore advised hub managers to develop innovative programmes, platforms and systems that could allow their start-ups to benefit from the public procurement.
“Hubs have to help start-ups achieve it and that is doable. It is going to be part of the propositions of hubs to their start-ups as time goes on,” he said.
He also called on the policy makers in the country, especially in the educational sector to design curriculum that would help young ones think outside the box and be part of solutions to societal problems.
In a related development, Mr Mohammad Ghraizi, the Chief Executive Officer, G&P Ltd., a major partner in the just launched Innovation Hub in Abuja said that Nigerian youths were already proffering solutions to the problems.
“Nigerian youths are already coming up with inventions that offer wonderful solutions to societal problem through Tangent Eco-innovation hub and we are determined to take the solutions to the end users,” he said.
NAN recalls that African University of Science and Technology (AUST) in Abuja is one of the partners that established Tangent Eco-Innovation hub located in the University of Abuja campus.
The second hub to be established in the Federal Capital Territory, after Sheda Science and Technology Complex (SHESTCO), Abuja.