We had fun again at the last Mobile Monday as were we discussed Government policy and Mobile Technology business in Nigeria. Close to 50 people attended and about 70% were attending for the first time.
The event started on a very light note as everyone in the room introduced themselves and what they do. Yomi Adegboye of Mobility Nigeria gave a brief update about the mobile industry and the shift to expect in the industry. Sheriff Shittu (Myself) of Webtrendsng.com gave another recap about things that are shaping the industry and how Nigerian developers are making things happen. I talked about interesting apps that were developed at recent Garage48 held earlier in the month. Some of the apps include; CallCamp, CooknChop, MyCash and a host of other innovative stuffs.
After the recap, the discussion moved to the theme of the day; Government policy and Mobile Business in Nigeria. ‘Gbenga Sesan ED of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria was the moderator;
Highlights of the discussion;
- Developers generally don’t know how to push policy forward for Government to impliment
- How can we get involve to bring about favourable policy.
- Participants were also encouraged to learn how government decisions are made
- Is government policy a hindrance to growth of the industry? Key question that everyone in the room had an opinion about.
- How can we grow the ecosystem? A responsibility for everyone to work out.
Mr. Tomi Davies talk;
Mr. Tomi is the COO of Mobitel, an internet service provider in Nigeria. He talked about how they fought established bureaucrats to get the license and how they won in the law court as their license was threatened for withdrawal illegally.
He focused extensively on the importance of integrity in doing business in the country. He said, the first compromise you make will be the last you would have to make before your downfall.
Mari-anne; a world bank consultant on building scalable technology business in Africa was also present to share world bank plan for Africa developers.
Largely, the high point was about networking that took place after the event. View pictures here.
Next, will be in June and will focus on the app ecosystem.