Information technology, Socio-economic networking can provide job opportunities for youths- Commissioner

Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. (Mrs) Lola Akande on Friday said Information technology and Socio-economic networking can provide job opportunities for youth in Lagos State.
She stated this at the maiden edition of Lagos Island Business Fair, 2022.
She said youths must be actively productive to change the prevailing narratives of the economy.
She said: “Young people should become social business entrepreneurs and contribute to the world.
“The aim of this Lagos Island business fair is to provide business education and networking for SMEs and artisans in Lagos Island and create a platform for them to galvanise the enormous potentials existing in Lagos Island “

Akande further said such fair was important toward building the capacity of youth oriented enterprises, with the goal of providing opportunities for growth and increasing prosperity amongst Lagos Island youths.
“I believe this platform can leverage socio-economic networking and Information technology to provide more interactive opportunities for the teeming youth of Lagos Island and its environs from diverse cultural, religious, social and educational backgrounds, to advance their businesses and services,” she said.
According to Akande, the state government is collaborating with the organisers of the Fair because it aligns with the policy of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration of “creating a conducive environment for businesses to thrive, widening access to market and encouraging networking and collaboration among entrepreneurs in line with the fourh pillar of the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda, which is making Lagos a 21st century economy.
“This also becomes necessary because the Fair lines up with the Federal Government’s policy on diversification of the economy from the focus on oil to non-oil export.
“The Lagos Island Business Fair falls into the category of other similar events in which the administration, through the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, collaborated to ensure exposure of MSMEs to the outside world,” she added.
She charged all stakeholders to remain committed and be encouraged to drive the economy of the state to create wealth and change the narratives of how businesses should be done in the 21st century, using information technology to drive business in line with world best practices.
She acknowledged and expressed appreciation to the organisers, exhibitors and visitors at the Fair for their role in making the first edition a success.
In her remarks, the co-founder, Lagos Island Connect (LIC), Ms Yemisi Ransome-Kuti said the economy “being the start and end of everything”, requires main elements of adding more workers to the workforce, and pushing productivity higher and thereby producing more goods and services to achieve growth.
She said: “The local government is the foundation upon which good governance and prosperity is built, hence our focus on that critical level of development.
“Without functional and effective institutions at the LG level, we build our policies and strategies on shifting sand,” she argued.
In her remarks, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Investments, Mrs. Solape Hammond, said collaboration on business connectivity in Lagos Island has been strengthened with critical engagement through economic summit by addressing needs to chart way forward on business demands.
The Lagos Island Business Fair, spearheaded by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives, is the culmination of dedicated effort by stakeholders to realise collective vision of a new Lagos Island that can propel socio economic development and meet the sustainable development goals of the 21st century.