The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has inaugurated the UNICORN Incubation Campus, a technological hub, in Lagos.
A statement issued by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) said the campus was inaugurated on Tuesday by the minister.
Sylva said it would prepare and equip Nigerian youths in the application of science, technology, and innovation to create home-grown business solutions to everyday problems in the different sectors of the country economy.
He lauded the company for investing in youth development and skill acquisition as opposed to other sectors of the economy that would probably yield higher return on investments.
The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, promised the board’s partnership to further channel the creativity and energy of Nigerian youths to promote peace, development, and excellence.
Wabote said the provision of the world-class platform would facilitate education, training, mentorship, infrastructure, and long-term capital to entrepreneurs and start-ups in technology-enabled sectors.
He commended the promoters of the project for choosing to invest in the development of human capacity and nurturing of tech and innovation start-ups. According to him, “This incubation campus could have been utilised as a shopping mall, hotel or rental apartments.
“The choice to invest in our youths and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs is truly patriotic and inspiring.”
Wabote said the key mandates of the board under the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act was to develop local capacities and capabilities.
He noted that the NCDMB was always excited to be part of any initiative aimed at the development of local capacities and capabilities.
Wabote said: “Our vision is to serve as a catalyst for the industrialisation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry and its linkage sectors.
“These linkage sectors include power, construction, ICT, and several others. I have no doubt that this UNICORN Incubation Campus is definitely a place that will catalyse innovation and creative ideas to address modern challenges.”
He stressed the need for Nigerians to prepare and position themselves to embrace the fourth Industrial Revolution that was already underway, especially with cloud computing, Internet of Things, Robotics and Big Data, among others.
