When we set out to tell the African tech story two years ago, we decided to tell the story in a language anyone can understand. In the spirit of this purpose, we decided that our most important constituents are the young people of Africa.
To address this group efficiently, we decided to meet them on their turfs, a place where are most comfortable amidst their peers. Hence, this year, Technext is Launching our campus-focused initiative which we have christened Technext Next Invasion.
Our mission is to empower students and faculty members to efficiently contribute to the growing potentials of the African tech space one university at a time.
For a pilot phase, we are starting with four Nigerian Universities in the year 2020.
Why Universities?
The population of our continent is predominantly youthful. This implies that over 60% of the population today will be around for about 4 decades or more.
A United Nations report indicates that the youthful population in Africa (numbering about 226 million), constitutes about 19% of the global youth population in 2015. By 2030, it is estimated that this population will have grown to account for 24% of the world’s global population.
Just that you know, this implies that in the coming decade, one out of every four persons walking the surface of the earth will be an African.
A greater percentage of these could be left out of the global innovation grind if a conscious effort is not made to reach them and the people that make significant impacts on their life trajectories.
We need to extend frontiers of tech conversations to areas that have been off-mic. If at all tech events were held on campuses, they were often about going in to talk to the communities about choosing a career using poster figures that they admire.
At TechNext, we feel it is time to talk with them, provide them with the platform to display ingenious ideas that have emanated from their space and celebrate their very bright innovations!
Despite their failing prospects, TechNext still believes that the university campuses are hubs for engendering the ideas of the future. We believe they are still the fulcrum for the diffusion of the tech innovations of the future.
They were crucial for political movements in the 70s and 90s, and basically for the diffusion of the new-age culture of every decade. Harnessing the potentials of these communities for tech is the task of the present.
The Campuses We Seek…
As much as we would have loved to take the gospel of tech to every corner of our continent, we are constrained to stick to four Nigerian Universities for Next Invasion 1.0 edition.
How would we determine the schools? Simple! Our Campus Invasion team is presently doing groundwork on a number of schools. We will solicit your opinions on our social media handles. Kindly oblige us. We will deeply appreciate.
Next Invasion intends to visit university campuses that have a good population of students that are tech enthusiasts, a supportive faculty, an active community of innovation hubs and a good list of innovators and graduate tech players.
In fact, your school may be next. Give us a chance to do this on your home soil!
To nominate a school, kindly use this link: Nominate a university.
We Need Your Help:
Also, we will be needing a good list of support items: mentors, sponsors, partners, volunteers, advisers, contacts and donors. Next Invasion will be at your doorsteps soon. Please help us take this gospel to the ends of the country. Our promise is to keep the process as transparent as can be and your efforts will be worth the while.
To contribute in any of the possible support options I have listed, kindly send an email [email protected]. Our team will reach out to you as quickly as we can.
In the end, we all can make tech a language everyone can understand. Let’s make this happen!
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