The Art of Lagos 5.0 unfolded over the weekend at the Landmark Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, from December 7th to 8th, 2023, between 9 am to 4 pm on both days. This year’s theme, “The Creative Economy and a Digital Lagos,” drew over 2000 participants each day, featuring keynote speakers and breakout sessions, concluding with a Gala and Award night recognizing notable innovators in the digital space. Attendees, ranging from nurses to podcast hosts, investors, stakeholders, and techpreneurs nationwide, represented the crème de la crème of the digital space.
The event, both insightful and eventful, saw the Chief Host, the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, expressing excitement at the grand opening of the Art of Technology (AOT) Lagos 5.0 Conference. During the stakeholders’ conference, Governor Sanwo-Olu emphasized the significance of collaboration between the government, industry, academia, and civil society to foster a thriving digital environment, solidifying Lagos’s status as Africa’s foremost fashion and creative hub.
Tubosun Alake, the Honorable Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, discussed the Data Protection Act, emphasizing existing laws, policies, and the establishment of cybersecurity SOCs by CBN, NCC, and Lagos state. He stressed the mandate for citizens’ data to be stored within the country for data sovereignty and rights, highlighting the need to strengthen existing architecture to enhance data protection procedures, especially in sectors like banking.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, a special guest of honor, shared insights on the collaboration between the federal and Lagos state governments to boost the creative sector using technology.
Renowned speakers, such as Dr. Bayo Adekanmbi, Founder and CEO of DSNai Lagos, London & Dubai, and Dr. Oluwatobiloba Moody, Director of World Intellectual Property Organization, provided expertise on “Data-Driven Creativity through Generative AI” and “Balancing Creativity and IP Protection in a Digital Lagos,” respectively. The digital entertainment industry’s bigwigs, Veteran Music Producer and Musician Cobhams Asuquo and renowned Filmmaker and Entrepreneur Kunle Afolayan, shared their thoughts on the way forward for a better digital Lagos.
The event featured two plenary sessions and two breakout sessions per day, with key speakers like Juliet Ehimuan, the founder of Beyond Limit, Wu Kui (Terrens Wu), the Managing Director of Huawei Nigeria Enterprise Business Development, and Special Guest of Honour, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, the Executive Deputy Governor of Lagos State, among other notable speakers who are inventors, CEOs, innovators, tech investors, pioneers, and leaders that have carved a niche of excellence for themselves.
The event concluded with the Gala and Awards night, recognizing and awarding excellent and innovative digital entrepreneurs for their significant contributions and innovations in 2023. Looking ahead, we anticipate a more digitized Lagos in 2024.
