CBN, NIBSS to headline CIO Club Africa inaugural summit

MD/CEO of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System plc, (NIBSS) Premier Oiwoh and the Deputy Governor of Central Bank (CBN) Ade Shonubi are among top dignitaries expected at the inaugural summit organized by the CIO Club Africa and Ediniesal Consulting Limited with the theme – The role of Digitalization in Transforming the Economy.

The summit which is scheduled for March 25 at the Civic Centre by 9 am is the first of its kind in the Information Technology space in Nigeria and by extension, the Central West Africa countries.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, Abiola Laseinde, the convener of the CIO Club Africa, explained that the summit aims to bring together critical stakeholders in Nigeria’s technological space at a strategic meeting place to discuss the way forward for the industry.

Laseinde who is also the CEO of Edniesal Consulting Ltd and Founder, the CIO Awards, also stated that the Summit would advance the cause of digital transformation and pull stakeholders to brainstorm, network, and collaborate for a better economy.

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In his own remark, Chairman of Edniesal Consulting Ltd, Oluwakayode Adigun, said the deliberations at the summit would help support all e-governance initiatives, bringing together the IT user community, governmental bodies to interact directly with vendors and the media in addressing IT challenges.

Speaking further, Adigun said the summit, being the first of its type in West Africa, would provide an interactive platform where the entire ecosystem can exchange best practice, share knowledge and experience, explore business solutions, and derive strategies to address major IT innovation challenges in Africa.

Speaking on the key roles CIO Club Africa intends to play in the technology ecosystem, Member Board of Trustees and Vice Chairman, CIO Club Africa, Fatumata Soukouna Coker, said the Club would be entirely secured and exclusively reserved for Members included assimilated COOs, and CEOs who oversee all IT activities in their company.

“We intend to establish strategic alliances with international bodies and exchange information on technology, security and problem solving and evaluate new technologies to help the IT community via virtual workshops, brainstorming sessions etc.”

Mr. Obinna Ukonu, the Country DTPS Director of Nigerian Bottling Company who also doubled as the President of the CIO Club Africa reiterated the need to launch a strategic meeting place, which is the CIO Club Africa Summit, for all top executives of the industry.

Worthy of note to be present as speakers at the CIO Club Africa Summit are high-profile government personnel who understand in-depth the roles of the CIOs, CTOs, CDOs, CISOs in the economy and these include Managing Directors, Country Managers, and Chief Executive Officers in the private sector who keep making their mark in the technology space.

The CIO Club Africa was launched at the inaugural CIO Awards in 2020 as a strategic platform for stakeholders in the digital transformation ecosystem for Africa.