The Edo State Government, through the state’s skills development agency, Edojobs, is set to host the maiden Edo Innovates Tech Conference (#EITC2022), with the theme, “Innovation, Solutions and Talent; Driving the Economies of the Future.”

The conference is being organized in partnership with the German Government and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (also known as GIZ), Google Developers Group, Globacom Limited and Songhai Labs.

The conference will be held at the Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub and Sound Stage in Benin City, Edo State, from 29th November to 3rd December, 2022.

According to the organisers, registration to attend the #EITC2022 is currently ongoing on the official website www.edotechconference.com.

The State Governor, His Excellency Governor Godwin Obaseki, is the host of the five-day event, which will feature panel discussions with industry experts; breakout training sessions; hackathons; start-up exhibition; networking; virtual tech job fair and other exciting activities.

The state government has had a keen focus for technology and innovation, which led to the establishment of Edo Innovates in 2018, where over 33,000 youths have undergone training in different areas of data science, artificial intelligence and cloud computing as well as the setting up of Edo Tech Park, where not less than 15,000 software engineers are being trained.

The #EITC2022 will provide tech talents and start-ups a safe platform to network and collaborate; build local solutions within their environment; showcase their skills and broaden their horizon; and strengthen the Nigerian tech ecosystem, with Edo serving at the epicentre to foster public-private partnerships within the tech space.

The conference would also enable start-ups to meet with potential partners and investors, with N2,000,000 (two million naira) up for grabs in the hackathon, while N3,000,000 (three million naira) will be won in the business pitch competition across three different categories namely, Agriculture, Education and Healthcare.