Uniting Innovation: Insights from the Inaugural Omniverse Summit 2024
The Nigerian Digital Innovation Ecosystem witnessed a historic moment at the first-ever Omniverse Summit held from February 27th to March 1st in Lagos. With over 8,000 attendees, the summit marked a significant milestone in fostering collaboration and innovation in Nigeria's digital economy.
Thought leaders, innovators, researchers, academia, and development professionals came together to drive cross-sectoral conversations and collective action, emphasizing economic development in the green and digital sectors. Which was also addressed during the insightful speeches at the opening from Mr. Massimo De Luca, the Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Weert Boerner, the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany and Ms. Anna Sophie Herken, Managing Director of GIZ and other notable attendees.
The Digital Transformation Room, hosted by GIZ Nigeria & ECOWAS, became a hub of knowledge, hosting panel discussions and showcases on cross-border trade challenges, circular economy innovations, and academia-industry collaboration. Showcases featuring women entrepreneurship in Northern Nigeria and Aba Leather Industry innovation, along with a Virtual Reality demo illustrating the digital transformation of businesses, highlighted the diverse talents and innovations within the ecosystem.
The Summit bubbled with activities from the Career Center matching talent to employers, to the Sages Lounge, Experience Center featuring a gaming championships and Virtual Reality experiences and the Marketplace. It also provided a platform for over 140 Tech Startup companies to showcase their innovations and engage with investors at the Deal Room pitching sessions, organized by the Innovation Support Network (ISN).
Co-founded by ISN and led by convener Obi Asika, the success of the Omniverse Summit 2024 was made possible through the support of the Digital Transformation Center Nigeria (DTC Nigeria), jointly-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
