Govt Urged to Support Tech Industry to Fight Unemployment among Youths
David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka
Governments at all levels have been urged to support the growth of tech industry in Nigeria as a way to encourage young people to go into the sector.
Mr. Linus Ifejika, the managing director of BLord Group, a fintech company based in Awka, Anambra State, owner of Billpoint App used for payment of utility bills, made the call yesterday during an event organised by the company for its agents.
Ifejika, a social media personality, who has also been named among the richest under 30 youths, said he has been under pressure to relocate his company to Lagos and Abuja, but he has rejected all the offers because he wants to support the growth of tech industry in his state, Anambra.
He said: “We want to support Governor Chukwuma Soludo to develop Anambra State that is why when people keep asking me, ‘BLord, what are you doing in Awka? I tell them that this is my home’.
“I have been under pressure to relocate my company from Awka to Lagos or Abuja, but if I leave Awka, what will these young people that are in my employ do? We have over 300 Billpoint agents, and thousands of dependents.
“Within the seven years that we have been in existence, we have created many young millionaires. We are the only tech company in Anambra State today, and we do not plan to leave soon. We only ask that government should support the tech sector, so that young people who wish to pursue a career in the industry can thrive.
“In our company we employ people without asking for years of experience because we know that most of those who want to play in the tech sector are young people. We bring young people in and give them the experience they need to thrive. “I’m 26 years old, so I’m a young person, and I want to help many other young people to grow, so there is no way we can be asking young people to come with years of experience before we can employ them. I have time to grow and I’m going to use that time to grow with all my agents,” he said.
He unveiled services offered by the company to include: Billpoint which is for payment of bills, Dolla App used to generate cards for making online payments, Famous App for elevating ones online presence, and Jetpay to trade digital assets like Bitcoin.
The event featured the presentation of gifts to agents of the company who performed exceptionally well in their transactions. The company gave out gas cookers, microwaves and a 50 inches television as presents to agents.
