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LAGOS – With its colorful hammocks and ping-pong table, a new technology center in the metropolis of Lagos would be out of place among start-ups on the other side of the world in Silicon Valley .
Nigeria sees a race to get Nollywood online
But the NG_Hub office is in the suburbs of Yaba – the heart of Nigeria's nascent technology that is catching the attention of global giants eager to tap into a nascent market of connected young Africans.
In May, Google and Facebook launch initiatives near
This week, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo was in California to judge US technology investors for what he said could announce a "fourth revolution" industrial ". 19659004] But it's not just Nigeria that stings the interest of tech giants
Last month, Google announced that it would open the first artificial intelligence lab in Africa in Accra, the capital of Ghana [19659004] Demographics is a key factor The population of Africa is estimated at 1.2 billion, of which 60% are under 24 years old. By 2050, the United Nations estimates that the population will double to 2.4 billion people.
"Companies like Facebook and Google" If you look at Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, where does much of that growth come from? "Said Daniel Ives, a technology researcher at GBH Insights in New York. ? He is international, "he told AFP
Facebook operates from the NG_Hub because it does not yet have a permanent office in Nigeria.
The chief of public policy of the The company, Ebele Okobi, said at the opening of The Social Network is committed to training 50,000 people across the country to "give them the digital skills they need to succeed," was she added.
READ: Western Cape still the hub of SA tech
In return, Facebook, which currently has about 26 million users in Nigeria, gets more users and access to a mbadive market to test new products and strategies
"We are invested in the ecosystem. Just the fact that they engage … that in itself is a goal, "she added.
Cyber-colonialism ?
Many African governments gave technology titans
In California, Osinbajo said the Nigerian government will "actively support" Google's Next Billion Users plan to "ensure better digital access to Nigeria and the world." "
Few sectors in Africa inspire as much hope as technology, which has the potential to revolutionize everything from health care to agriculture."
Examples: Ubenwa, a start-up -up Nigerian called "Shazam for babies", according to the application that identifies the music and film excerpts.
Ubenwa badyzes the cry of a baby using the l & # 39; AI to diagnose asphyxia at birth, a leading cause of death in Africa when babies are not getting enough of oxygen and nutrients before, during or immediately after birth. lives. "Africans should be responsible for finding solutions," said Tewodros Abebe, PhD student in language technology at the University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
"If we are not involved, no one can understand the existing problems."
Abebe dismissed fears that what Facebook and Google are doing is a form of so-called cyber-colonialism. "Working Collaboratively is in my opinion a good way of transferring technology for Africa, "he said. "They're only looking for business, it's colonization."
& nbsp; Epocalypse Now & # 39;
As the African technology sector grows, fueled by the growth of mobile phone use, Osinbajo told technical leaders that Nigeria was eager to create the right environment for development, including for regulation.
But the debate on privacy is unobtrusive in many African countries, unlike Europe, which has recently pbaded new, stricter data protection laws.
Facebook was also at the center of a storm for failing to protect user data during the 2016 US presidential elections and the Brexit referendum. 19659004] Global Justice Now, an anti-poverty group, fears that technology companies will be left free to create a global surveillance state.
"We could find ourselves feeling sleepy toward a world in which a handful of technology companies ex exert monopoly control over large parts of the global economy, further exacerbating inequalities between North and South," he said. the militant group in a May 2018 report entitled "Epocalypse Now."
Renata Avila, of the World Wide Web The Foundation in Geneva, which advocates for digital equality, said that this was not the case. not materialized but that there were pressing concerns.
"The message is that Africa needs investments and that it needs to develop these industries. Said Avila, a researcher in digital rights
"But there is little monitoring," she added, warning that without regulation, people were vulnerable to exploitation.
AFP
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