GHANA- Thursday, July 16, 2020,/ https://africanpostonline.com/ According to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa, the continent has seen a significant growth in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) since the start of the millennium, particularly in mobile telephony.
But while mobile phone penetration in Africa now stands at over 60 percent, the continent lags well behind other developing regions in internet access and usage. The Northern Innovation Lab (NIL) is a consultancy and support system in ICT and social entrepreneurship. NIL’s goal is to partner Small Growing Businesses who aspire to become global brands leveraging on the unique opportunities in Africa.
The Northern Innovation Lab is set out on a mission to nurture a generation of business owners, business leaders and successful businesses. Its vision as a support system is woven around some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
SDG 1- No Poverty
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that about 800 million people around the world still live on less than USD 1.25 a day. To reduce poverty levels, the NIL seeks to increase the number of independent individuals with skills and capacities to earn a living and cater for their families.
SDG 4 – Quality Education
People from the poorest societies are four times more likely not to have any form of education than those of the richest societies. We therefore seek to achieve SDG goal 4 by providing individuals with quality technological, technical and vocational education through innovative learning methods.
SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
An important part of economic growth is that people have jobs that pay enough to support themselves and their families. The good news is that the middle class is growing worldwide, almost tripling in size in developing countries in the last 25 years, to more than a third of the population. But today, job growth is not keeping pace with the growing labour force. Things do not have to be that way. Policies that encourage entrepreneurship and job creation must are essential to eradicate forced labour, slavery and human trafficking. At NIL, we are determined to guide and enable individuals to become more employable and build start-ups and businesses that contribute to the growth of the economy.
SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and infrastructure
Four billion people have no way of getting online, the vast majority of them in developing countries. The more we invest in innovation and infrastructure, the better off we will all be. Bridging the digital divide, promoting sustainable industries, and investing in scientific research and innovation are all important ways to facilitate sustainable development. At NIL, we therefore encourage our members to be innovative and develop an industrial and infrastructural mindset for our growing community.
SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities
More than half the world’s population now lives in cities, and that figure will go to about two-thirds of humanity by the year 2050. Cities are getting bigger. In 1990 there were ten “mega-cities” with 10 million inhabitants or more. In 2014, there were 28 mega-cities, home to 453 million people. A lot of people love cities; they are centers of culture, business and life. They are also centers of extreme poverty. To make cities sustainable for all, we must create good, affordable public housing. We must upgrade slum settlements. We must invest in public transport, create green spaces, and get a broader range of people involved in urban planning decisions. That way, we can keep the things we love about cities, and change the things we don’t. NIL supports and advocates for practices and initiatives that champion sustainable development of our communities and cities.
SDG goal 5 aims to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030. At NIL, we are committed to making this goal a reality. As a support system that revolves around technology, in June, 2020 we set up a two-week program to train women and girls in essential digital skills, web development, design skills, leadership and entrepreneurship. Our goal is to prepare women and girls for more exciting opportunities within the tech space, connect them to mentors and role models and connect them to internships and job opportunities.
On Tuesday, 23rd June, 2020, Northern Innovation Lab, in partnership with Ghana Tech Lab, held a consultative stakeholder meeting in Walewale, North East Region. The meeting was under the theme – The role of Web Technology for Digital Transformation of the Local Economy. Stakeholders within the region formulated relevant policies and strategies to influence advocacy and strategic engagement with the regional and national policy makers. A policy brief was adopted by stakeholders for the solutions proposed to be used to address the identified challenges. The NIL will play an important role in developing capacities of the stakeholders and supporting the local government agencies to implement the proposed policy recommendations.
We have seen from experience that there are lots of people and organizations interested in the application of technology to solve local problems and our goal is to continue to unearth such Start-ups and growing businesses to support them to develop their ideas/ products.
Source: Michael Sa-Ambo – African Post online
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Michael Sa-Ambo is a consummate writer who is passionate about development on the African continent. His area of interest is in current affairs, personal development and communication.
