The second session of the Government and Tech Summit (GAT Summit) themed Regulating for the future – Providing solutions for smart governance included like Adewale Adeyipo, CEO of CWG Plc, Yomi Adedeji, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Softcom Limited, Oluwemimo J. Osanipin, COO, JET Motors Professor Ajayi, Ayodele Ebenezer, former Adviser to the Executive Governor of Ekiti State and Similoluwa Opeyemi, Legal Counsel, Youverify.
Read also: Tech innovators discuss challenges with regulations at GAT Summit 2022
The session on governance in ease of doing business was moderated by Emmanuel Onwuka, Presenter, Nigeria Info FM, Lagos
The focus of the discussions was on how the government and regulators can work with innovators and players in the tech industry to offer a framework and an enabling environment where ideas and innovation may flourish and be frictionless.
Excerpts from the discuss on governance and tech
According to Mejero Emmanuella Kunu, it’s not enough to call for partnership between government regulators and tech players. There’s a need for the regulatory bodies to go on to hire tech-savvy operators to join the ranks in governance to ease the relationship.
Fundamentally, a look inward is necessary with a view to find a working principle to provide better services for people.
Mejero Emmanuella Kunu
For Simisola Opeyemi, the major problem around providing governance and a sound structure for these startups and innovators to thrive is inability of the government or regulators to recognise how the ecosystem works and the need to collaborate to provide what it actually needs other than tight stiffening.
Sinmioluwa Opayemi identifies a challenge of “copycat” regulations in the tech space that do not mirror local reality. She asks the government to work on setting up regulatory policies that are tailored to the Nigerian experience.
Most of the regulations we have looks like a copy and paste of other regulatory books. Often, they don’t take into the circumstances of how the Nigerian climate works. Regulations need to be adapted.
Similoluwa Opeyemi, Legal Counsel, Youverify.
In response, Adewale Adeyipo says he does not see a problem with copying (regulatory) models from around the world. However, questions on efficiency need to be asked before adoption.
He also added that there is also a need for a sound collaboration, orientation and adoption of ideas that seek to propel the future of tech in the right part and provide governance structure around tech. This, he says would create a conducive environment rather than stiffening tech innovation.
I think there’s a need for more active and more engaging collaboration between the private and public sectors and by extension the regulators.
Adewale Adeyipo, CEO of CWG Plc
“There’s also the paradox by the private sector and by extension the tech sector that some things should come to us because we believe so much in our creativity to produce that solution. That needs to be taken away”, he added.
In his remarks, Oluwemimo J. Osanipin, COO, JET Motors noted that there was the need for understanding from both parties (regulators and innovators) to work hand in hand to implement policies that would provide solutions to the problems confronting everybody in the industry.
“Regulators and innovators have to meet midway to provide suitable governance. If regulators want people to come to them, it will be difficult to regulate. For you to regulate properly, you need to regulate from a place of knowledge”, he said.
Read also: Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu presents Lagos as an emerging tech hub at GAT Summit 2022
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