{"id":107726,"date":"2026-03-01T22:48:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T01:48:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/896740730"},"modified":"2026-03-01T22:48:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T01:48:18","slug":"over-53000-participants-attend-enugu-tech-festivala-says-commissioner-for-sciencea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/01\/over-53000-participants-attend-enugu-tech-festivala-says-commissioner-for-sciencea\/","title":{"rendered":"Over 53,000 Participants Attend Enugu Tech Festival,\u00c2\u00a0 Says Commissioner For Science\u00c2\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by Ignatius Okpara<\/a><\/span> Featured<\/a>, Latest Headlines<\/a>, News<\/a>, News Across Nigeria<\/a><\/span> Sunday, March 1st, 2026<\/span> <\/span> <\/a> <\/p>\n

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) \u2013  The second edition of the Enugu Tech Festival (ETF 2.0) has ended with a record-breaking 53,000 physical participants, underscoring Nigeria\u2019s accelerating push to position itself as a continental leader in digital innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Held from 24 to 27 February 2026 at the Enugu International Conference Centre ICC, the four-day gathering surpassed its projected target of 50,000 attendees, the organizing Ministry has said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 Convener of the Festival and Enugu Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Prince Lawrence Ezeh, who stated on Sunday in Enugu  described the turnout as \u201ca resounding validation of Enugu\u2019s vision to become a technology trailblazer in Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

 He noted  that the festival drew not only physical attendees but also hundreds of online participants from across the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

 The event which was broadcast live on Africa Independent Television (AIT) was reported to be among the top five global trending events on social platforms during its run \u2014 an unprecedented level of digital engagement for an African tech convergence.<\/span><\/p>\n

He said \u201cWe set out to inspire 50,000 innovators, thinkers, founders, investors and digital talents. To see nearly 60,000 people here in real time, not registrations but actual engagement, shows that the narrative around African tech is shifting beyond perception to meaningful participation and impact,\u201d Dr Ezeh told journalists on the final day.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organisers provided a breakdown of attendance across the festival\u2019s four days: 20,000 participants on Day 1, followed by 15,000 on Day 2, 13,000 on Day 3 and 5,000 on Day 4. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEach day was curated around a central theme, drawing voices from government, global tech firms, startups, and academia.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe theme of this year\u2019s event was: \u201cCoal to Code: Energy in New Form\u201dDay One centered on policy and governance, with Governor Peter Mbah declaring the festival officially opened. His keynote address was resounding. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe said technology and innovation remain at the heart of Enugu\u2019s transformation under his administration, urging youths to explore the abundant opportunities in both.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe world has crossed a line. What we are witnessing in our lifetime is nothing short of an economic renaissance powered by technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn just three decades, companies that began in garages and dorm rooms have grown into some of the most valuable institutions in human history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEnterprises like Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta Platforms have reshaped commerce, communication, entertainment, finance, governance, and even human relationships.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe rise of these companies tells us something profound: the world economy is no longer driven primarily by physical assets, but by ideas, code, data, and innovation. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are witnessing the acceleration of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.\u201dHere in Enugu, we have made a deliberate decision: we will not be spectators in this revolution. <\/span><\/p>\n

He added that \u201cWe will be participants. We will be producers,\u201d.Ezeh stated <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cConsequently, Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Her Excellency, Anna Westerholm and other VIPs walked through exhibition halls filled with startups, coding boot camps, robotics demonstrations and AI-powered agricultural tools.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cObservers from Britain and other European markets noted the growing sophistication of Nigeria\u2019s tech discourse \u2014 shifting from aspirational rhetoric to implementation frameworks and measurable outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDay Two placed investment and entrepreneurship at the forefront. A curated \u201cDeal Room\u201d facilitated meetings between early-stage startups and venture capitalists, while technical masterclasses focused on scaling, product-market fit and cross-border expansion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInvestors from Lagos, Nairobi, London and Dubai were in attendance, reflecting increasing global appetite for African digital enterprises. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral seed-stage companies reportedly secured follow-up funding conversations, though specific figures were not publicly disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Ezeh however, described the festival as \u201ca bridge between talent and capital,\u201d adding that Enugu aims to become \u201cthe investment gateway to South-East Nigeria\u2019s technology corridor\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to him, \u201cDay Three explored artificial intelligence, blockchain and Web3 technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201d A live hackathon  culminating in public demonstrations \u2014 spotlighted teams developing solutions in fintech, healthcare diagnostics and climate-smart agriculture.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPanels debated responsible AI governance and decentralised finance regulation, topics increasingly relevant as African markets adopt digital currencies and data-driven systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe emphasis, however, remained firmly on skills acquisition. Hundreds of young participants underwent hands-on training sessions in software engineering, cloud computing and blockchain development.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are strengthening Nigeria\u2019s science, technology and innovation ecosystem,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n

He said Research commercialisation and youth entrepreneurship are central to our economic diversification strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Secretary to the Enugu State Government, professor  Chidiebere Onyia, described the festival as \u201ca landmark achievement\u201d that had elevated Enugu\u2019s global profile.<\/span><\/p>\n

 Hundreds of young participants received laptops and tablet devices during the closing ceremony, distributed to top hackathon performers, student innovators and emerging developers identified through competitive assessments.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In a further boost, select startup founders and innovation teams were awarded cash grants of \u20a610 million each, aimed at accelerating product development and market entry.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Short URL<\/strong>: https:\/\/www.africanexaminer.com\/?p=105931<\/small><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology<\/span>, Dr. Prince Lawrence Ezeh, who … , drawing voices from government, global tech<\/span> firms, startups, and academia. \u00e2\u0080\u009cThe … growing sophistication of Nigeria\u00e2\u0080\u0099s tech<\/span> discourse \u00e2\u0080\u0094 shifting from aspirational rhetoric …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107726\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}