Jim McKelvey, a renowned American technology expert and co-founder of Square, has called on Nigerian entrepreneurs to commit to deployment of innovative technologies in achieving business enterprise successes.

McKelvey made the call while speaking on the topic: “The Shark Instinct: How Entrepreneurs Smell Opportunities” at the just concluded two-day TECH+ Conference and Exhibitions in Lagos.

According to McKelvey, who is credited with some technological innovations, entrepreneurs owe themselves the duty to move with current technological trends and avoid the pitfalls of overlooking the importance of technology in driving business growth.

He also noted that following the fast-paced advancement in technology which has heightened the threat posed by competition, visionary entrepreneurs should embrace, and keep up the pace to remain relevant in business and challenge market equity.

“As you find opportunity, use it to solve problems. As you think about technology think about the problems and the many things you can solve with technology.

Speaking further, McKelvey challenged entrepreneurs to painstakingly study what experts in related fields have done with a view to positioning their businesses in good stead but cautioned against unbridled copying of existing business models of some entrepreneurs, while stressing that such does not guarantee a repeat of success as conditions under which a model succeeded may vary from place to place.

In his words, “you don’t have to start everything by yourself; there are others who have done such things before, so learn from them. Figure out yourself what they have done, but be cautious not seek to copy everything they did. The reason is that there are factors that enabled them to succeed some of which may not be available to you. No leader is going to be able to tell you how absolutely everything works,’’ he said.

Also speaking in her opening remarks, Mrs Nike Animashaun, permanent secretary in the Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology, has reiterated the commitment of the state government to deploying technology in managing its complexities occasioned by the high volume of economic activities as the nation’s commercial capital.

Animashaun also stated that the state views technology as a critical factor in youth and enterprise development.

“Lagos views this field as critical to youth development and enterprise development. We have seen several applications developed out of Lagos by young technology start-ups who are working to create a name for themselves,” she said.

Meanwhile, Michael Ikpoki, managing director of MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, has given his support for an ICT sector-driven economy.

Ikpoki stated this in his welcome address at the TECH+ Conference and Exhibitions at the weekend.

He noted that the ICT sector has been critical to the economy with significant contribution to the GDP and predicted its readiness to contribute more.

“Our oil and gas sector is 75 per cent of our Federal Government revenue and 95 per cent of foreign exchange and just 12 per cent of the GDP. So, how do we power other sectors? We can only do that with technology by coming up with relevant apps that make us do business better. That is what we do at TECH+ we are creatinga platform for us to improve our economy,”

Tech+ conference and exhibitions featured exhibitions, gaming sessions, the digital school, programming, plenary and break-out sessions, as well as panel discussions.

The exhibition covered products and services in various areas such as healthcare and wellbeing, automobile, entertainment, education, computing, smart homes, wearable, security, gaming, 3D Printing, and displays, among others.

The event was powered by MTN Nigeria, sponsored by Samsung, Huawei, Google, Jumia, Terragon Group, Coscharis Motors and a host of other sponsors. The event was organised by Connect Marketing Services.

Nike Animashaun (2nd-r), permanent secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Science and Technology cutting the tape to declare open Tech+ Conference & Exhibitions on Friday in Lagos. She is flanked by (l-r) Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, GM, Enterprise, MTN Nigeria, Michael Ikpoki, managing director, MTN Nigeria and Tunji Adeyinka, CEO, Connect Marketing Services Limited.