Africa can become world’s top exporter of technology talent – Nigeria investor
Afropop Star and Entrepreneur Eazi Meets with Estonia’s Former President, Tech Execs
What you need to know:
- Speaking at the Latitude59 tech conference in Estonia that brought together more than 400 investors and 800 startup representatives from across the world, Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi, said many African countries have invested in equipping their youth with digital skills for development.
Africa has the prospect to become the highest net exporter of technology talent in the world, a Nigerian musician and entrepreneur Oluwatosin Ajibade has said.
Speaking at the Latitude59 tech conference in Estonia that brought together more than 400 investors and 800 startup representatives from across the world, Ajibade, popularly known as Mr Eazi, said many African countries have invested in equipping their youth with digital skills for development.
“You have more than 10 million smart, young people getting out of university each year in need of jobs. Now, Africa — not just Nigeria, but Kenya, Ghana, Benin, Rwanda, etc — our continent has the prospect to become the highest net exporter of technology talent,” he said at the two-day conference that ended on Wednesday.
Mr Eazi, who owns VC fund Zagadat Capital, an investment firm, urged European countries to open their markets to African countries.
Estonia presently has the most start-ups per capita of any European nation. It is ranked first in the region for its business environment by the Emerging Europe IT Competitiveness Index.
At the conference, Mr Eazi discussed his tech and creative journey — and the prospects of the African orange economy via smart governance — in a roundtable with former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
While in Estonia, he also met with industry leaders and tech entrepreneurs, including Ahti Heinla, a founding developer of Skype and the founder and CTO of robotics company Starship Technologies; and Markus Villig, the founder and CEO of mobility company Bolt.
The entrepreneur hailed Estonia for allowing partnerships with African companies.
“[Former president] Ilves shared how Estonia has been positioning itself to be friendly for tech founders and entrepreneurs through its digital e-residency program,” Eazi said.
“You can set up your company digitally in Estonia, and become an e-resident,” he said.
Through Zagadat Capital Eazi recently invested in Decagon, a company that trains engineers in Nigeria and pairs them with jobs worldwide.
He said this presents a major opportunity for African tech talent to gain a foothold in overseas markets such as Estonia.
“I believe this is my first of many trips to Estonia, and I am excited at the fun stuff and ideas we will execute together,” he stated.
Earlier in May, Eazi was a speaker at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, where he shared his views on African music’s role in developing and stimulating the continent’s creative economy.
