Ebere praises Uzodimma, for transforming Imo into tech hub

The immediate past Imo chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Macdonald Ebere , has commended Governor Hope Uzodimma for what he described as Imo State’s steady rise as Nigeria’s tech capital.

Ebere made the commendation following the final showcase of an eight-month programme that trained young founders to build strong tech businesses, held as part of the New Tech Startups Event in Owerri earlier in the week.

He also the Board Chairman, Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos State spoke in an interview with the news reporters on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that there were moments that quietly confirm that a vision has moved from paper to practice.

“For me, watching Imo host the New Tech Startups Event in Owerri earlier in the week was one of them. It was not just another gathering. It was proof that the digital foundation laid by His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Hope Uzodimma, has taken root and is now producing fruits that can stand anywhere in the world.”

He said the governor had stayed true to his `Shared Prosperity’ vision and re-engineered Imo into an innovation capital.

According to him, what is being celebrated did not happen by accident. It is the product of deliberate, carefully planned investment.

Ebere recalled that the Skill-Up Imo Project began in 2022 and has since become Nigeria’s largest sub-national tech talent factory, training more than 60,000 young people in software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain and design.

“The aim was to steer youths away from cultism and cybercrime toward legitimate digital careers that pay well and restore dignity.”

He noted that Uzodimma did not stop at training but moved to jobs. Through a partnership with the University of California, Berkeley and the US Market Access Center, he said, the state launched Africa’s first state-backed talent marketplace, ImoTalentHub.com, to connect Imo youths with direct, well-paid remote work at companies in Lagos, London, Dubai and Silicon Valley.

Ebere also pointed to the institutional architecture. Imo, he said, became the first state to create a Ministry of Digital Economy and E-Government. At the Imo Digital City, an AI Institute, innovation hubs and BPO centres are being developed.

He said that this was conscious move away from an economy that depends only on resources to one driven by ideas, skills and technology.

“The Imo model is drawing global attention. By training youths to build products such as the MyImo App and linking them to employers abroad through secure naira, dollar and pound payment channels, the governor has created something worth studying.

“The United Nations has noticed it. And the startups pitching their solutions today are direct beneficiaries of that ecosystem. They are no longer just looking for jobs. They are creating jobs and earning foreign exchange for Imo State.”

He congratulated the governor on the landmark achievement and urged young people to seize the golden opportunity, saying the door has been opened. It is now theirs to walk through.