By If you are wondering how to get scarce foreign currency to start up a business that requires imported inputs, there is an idea on that popping up from the Chief Executive Officer of Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL), Mr Yemi Oshodi who spend 25 years of his business life on the Wall Street before returning to Nigeria to set up ICSL, an internet service provider (ISP) company.
Oshodi who was a guest speaker at the maiden edition of the Idea Dinner With CEOs, organised by TechLife Media and Communications Limited with the theme: Critical Thinking for Building a Sustainable Digital Economy, disclosed that an investor can use the Dollar to secure Naira loans from a bank thereby making the Dollar a collateral which the banks will be glad to accept.
Although he spared the details at the evening dinner event, which had in attendance chief executives officers from companies across corporate Nigeria, he how said that the fear of the owners of the Dollar losing their money would not arise saying that at the end of the business transaction, the investor is at liberty to move out his Dollars once the interest is paid.
According him, there are several ideas which the private sector in the country is driving to impact the digital economy noting that the Project 774, which is on internet connectivity in rural Nigeria is one of such adding that one has been completed in Kogi State, and that following the completion of the project about 20,000 calls are presently made on a daily basis.
While describing Nigeria as a vibrant economy that would soon be well connected, he stated that another of such Project 774 has been completed in Azusa in Bayelsa State saying that the project involves building VSAT that runs on solar with backup in Lagos.
Oshodi also disclosed that the Project 774 led to opening Point of Sales(PoS) as business across the areas that offers small business growth in the rural communities hitherto denied of such business opportunities.
While noting that Nigeria has one of the fastest banking system in the world, Oshodi stated that there are funding business opportunities in rural electricity business of up to about $80 million waiting to be accessed adding that there is need for a 5G grade in the villages of Nigeria that does not required mush to setup unlike in the urban areas.
He said that rural Nigeria needs mini-ISP that can be solar-powered besides deploying mobile ISPs in the rural areas stressing that one of the major problems in the country is the scarce foreign exchange, but that partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OMEs) to setup plants in Nigeria can solve that problem.
Also speaking the Vice President Computer Society of Nigeria (NCS), Dr Charles Onyeukwu, said that there are opportunities yet to be exploited for the benefit of the country in area Intelligent (AI) and robotic, saying that the Nigerian Army is already working on how to use Artificial Intelligent (AI) and robotic to combat insurgence across the nation.
According to him, the NCS is working on how to stop the dumping of imported software into Nigeria.
