Zinox Boss Donates N50m to NCS Innovation Fund

Emma Okonji
Chairman of Zinox Group, Leo Stan Ekeh has donated the sum of N50 million to the Innovation and Development Fund if the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS).

Ekeh had announced the donation on behalf of Zinox during the 2021 National Information Technology Merit Awards (NITMA), which held at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos in November.

The N50 million cheque was presented recently at the corporate headquarters of Zinox located in Gbagada, Lagos.

Ekeh was honored in 2011 with the pioneer IT Personality award of the association for his incisive entrepreneurship and positive disruption in the tech sector.

The Innovation and Development Fund, set up by the NCS, the umbrella organisation of all Information Technology professionals, interest groups and stakeholders in Nigeria, is geared at creating the much-needed resources and backing to support research and innovation in Information Technology. Furthermore, the fund, which was officially launched at the NITMA awards, is to aid start-ups in transforming their ideas into working systems for national development.

Speaking while announcing his donation, Ekeh, Chief Launcher at the event, commended the Executive Council of the NCS for birthing the idea of an innovation hub that would incubate start-ups and foster the spirit of creative genius which abounds in Nigeria’s increasingly tech-focused youths.

Ekeh revealed that his grant would see the immediate release of the sum of N20 million for the fund and subsequent annual donations of the sum of N10 million respectively in the next three years. He also appealed to other stakeholders to support the initiative to train more Nigerians.

The Zinox boss expressed confidence that through the Innovation and Development Fund set up by the NCS, Nigeria would be in a better position to unearth raw tech talents who could emerge as certified global dollar billionaires in a few years’ time.

Receiving the cheque, the Executive Secretary of NCS, Mr. Iyiola Ayooola, thanked the management of Zinox Group and its chairman for the donation, which he said would help in driving technology innovation among startups in the country.