General News
Nigerian, Francis Okafor, Gains Prominence in China’s Tech Ecosystem
In Shenzhen, widely regarded as one of the world’s leading technology and manufacturing hubs, Nigerian technology expert Francis Okafor is gaining recognition for his contributions to artificial intelligence and advanced engineering within China’s innovation ecosystem.
Okafor, who hails from Anambra State, has been based in China for eight years. “I’m based in China, and I’ve been here for about eight years now,” he said. “What I do full-time is tech, real, deep tech.”
He currently serves as a Tech Lead at IDEMIA, a multinational company known for its work in identity security, biometrics, cryptography, secure financial systems, and expanding interests in quantum computing.
From China, Okafor coordinates DevOps operations, software development, artificial intelligence systems, and robotics-enabled manufacturing tools across global hubs in China, India, France, Brazil, and the United States.
Despite his leadership position, he maintains an active engineering role. “Even though I’m a tech lead, I still write the core code,” he said. “My work is about 70 per cent tech and 30 per cent managerial. I’m still a full-fledged tech guy.”
Okafor said operating in China’s advanced technology sector has exposed him to stereotypes about Africans. “In China, Africans are usually seen as being good at sports or music,” he said. “When you say you’re an engineer or working in AI, people don’t really associate that with Africans.”
He added that his experience in elite engineering and hacker communities revealed a lack of African representation. “What pained me the most was that Africa had zero representation in these serious tech spaces,” he said. “Not Nigeria, but Africa.”
Beyond his corporate responsibilities, Okafor is involved in technology advocacy and community building. He chairs the Shenzhen Afrotech Community and co-founded the Shenzhen–Hong Kong Afrotech Network. He is also active in French and German technology communities and international AI business platforms.
Through conferences, hackathons, and policy dialogues, he has advocated greater African participation in global innovation. “China is many steps ahead in manufacturing, hardware, and AI,” he said. “Africa has always been the last to receive innovation. We don’t have a say in development, and that’s the problem I wanted to address.”
Speaking on China’s industrial ecosystem, he said, “This is where Apple, IBM, everybody comes to manufacture. So I asked myself, how do I use my position here to benefit Africa?”
Okafor has also been invited by Shenzhen authorities to speak on artificial intelligence and innovation. He attended the opening ceremony of the 2025 China National Games following an official invitation. “That event is not open to the public,” he said. “Only people selected by the government attend, and the President was there.”
On China’s technology model, Okafor said deliberate localisation and strong government commitment have been key. “The Chinese don’t just adopt technology,” he said. “They take the idea, block it, improve it, and build their own.”
Comparing this with Nigeria, he added: “In Nigeria, we accept and consume. Instead of copying and localising, we remain users.”
Addressing concerns about artificial intelligence and job displacement, Okafor said similar fears accompanied the emergence of the internet. “When the internet came, people were scared,” he said. “But new jobs emerged: web designers, content creators, digital assistants.”
He acknowledged that AI could displace some roles but said it would also create new opportunities. “If you don’t upskill, then yes, AI will replace you,” he said. “But if you use AI as an assistant, it will empower you.”
He urged Nigerians to take personal responsibility for adapting to technological change. “Don’t wait for the government,” he advised. “Every Nigerian has a responsibility to understand AI and apply it in their own field.”
Highlighting the broader scope of artificial intelligence, he said, “AI is beyond ChatGPT. It’s computer vision, prediction, automation, and it can work even without the internet.”
Okafor said he is exploring ways to formally connect Nigerian and China-based technology ecosystems.
“She told me it wasn’t good that I was contributing so much in China and nothing back home,” he said of a conversation with Ambassador Nini Okey-Uche, a minister at the Nigerian Embassy in Beijing. “That conversation changed my thinking.”
He added: “I’m on ground here. I see new technologies every day, and Africa needs access to that knowledge.”
Expressing his broader vision, Okafor said, “I want to change the narrative. Africans are not just entertainers. We are very good engineers too.”
Dangote Petroleum Refinery is reportedly nearing completion of a $2.5 billion private placement that values the company at about $40 billion ahead of its planned public listing.
Private placement is the direct sale of company shares or bonds to pre-selected investors instead of the general public and it is used to raise money quickly while avoiding strict public reporting rules.
People familiar with the transaction said investors acquired as much as 6 per cent of the refinery, according to a BusinessDay report.
The reported terms would value the business at approximately $40 billion.
Neither Dangote Group nor the refinery has publicly announced the final amount raised, the identities of most subscribers or the precise percentage sold.
The figures should therefore be treated as transaction details supplied by unnamed sources rather than confirmed company disclosures.
The reported $2.5 billion total is nevertheless significant as it indicates strong demand for exposure to a privately controlled refinery that has rapidly become central to Nigeria’s fuel supply and an increasingly important exporter of petroleum products.
The placement was said to have attracted more demand than the available shares, allowing the company to secure substantially more than the amount initially associated with the fundraising exercise.
Femi Otedola, chairman, First HoldCo, is the only major participant publicly identified in the report.
He reportedly committed $100 million to the transaction and sold his investment in Geregu Power Plc to finance the acquisition.
Nigeria’s pension industry was also reportedly cleared to participate.
Access to more than $17 billion in retirement assets would broaden the refinery’s potential investor base beyond wealthy individuals and conventional institutional buyers.
Participation by Pension Fund Administrators would, however, require careful attention to valuation, liquidity and portfolio-concentration limits.
Retirement funds must balance the attraction of a large Nigerian industrial asset against their responsibility to protect contributors’ savings.
The implied $40 billion valuation represents investor expectations about the refinery’s future earnings rather than only the physical cost of constructing the facility.
Its ability to process 650,000 barrels of crude daily gives it a central role in supplying Nigeria and other markets, but its commercial performance remains connected to crude availability, product prices, exchange rates and regulation.
The refinery has struggled to obtain all the Nigerian crude it requires under the government’s naira-for-crude arrangement.
It has consequently purchased some feedstock internationally and recently moved local petroleum-product pricing into dollars to align sales revenue more closely with its foreign-currency expenses.
Those constraints will be important during any public offering.
Prospective shareholders will want greater clarity on crude-supply contracts, debt, operating margins, export revenue and the company’s relationship with Nigerian regulators.
It is also unclear whether the private placement involved newly issued shares, a sale by existing owners or a combination of both.
That distinction determines whether the reported $2.5 billion becomes fresh capital for the refinery or proceeds received by selling shareholders.
The transaction could provide a useful price reference for the planned initial public offering.
Federal government will next month launch Nigeria’s first national organized crime strategy to strengthen the country’s response to terrorism, cybercrime, human and drug trafficking, kidnapping, illicit financial flows, and other forms of organized crime.
Major General Adamu Laka, national coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre under the Office of the National Security Adviser, disclosed this in Abuja during the validation of the strategy document.
He said the strategy provides a coordinated national framework for tackling organized crime through improved intelligence sharing, stronger collaboration among security agencies, and closer cooperation with the criminal justice system, civil society organizations, and international partners.
Major General Laka explained that the document was developed through a partnership involving the Federal Government, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States Government, and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the event, Cheikh Toure, UNODC representative, said the strategy would strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to combat transnational crimes, including drug trafficking, cybercrime, human trafficking, kidnapping, and illicit financial flows.
Also speaking, Douglas Grane, acting director of the United States Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, reaffirmed the U.S. government’s support for Nigeria’s efforts to tackle organized crime through stronger inter-agency and international cooperation.
Representatives of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and the National Cyber Security Centre also endorsed the initiative, describing it as a major step towards improving Nigeria’s fight against organized crime.
FATE Foundation, with funding from the Citi Foundation, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Incubation Programme to equip young people in Nigeria with financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
Delivered through free, safe, and accessible platforms, the programme supports the incubation and scaling of youth-led enterprises, enabling income generation and job creation.
In October 2025, FATE Foundation was selected as a recipient of Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to Accelerate Youth Employability. Joining the cohort of 50 organisations globally, the Foundation will receive $500,000 over two years to advance its youth employability initiative.
“We are excited to be selected for Citi Foundation’s 2025 Global Innovation Challenge,” said Ayomide Akindolie-Igwe, Executive Director of FATE Foundation.
“This support enables us to equip young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with the financial literacy and skills needed to build and scale sustainable businesses.”
The programme addresses youth employability by tackling Africa’s growing jobs crisis. By 2030, the African continent will be home to 40% of the world’s youth, and with one in three under 35 already unemployed, this initiative will support Nigerian youth with a two-phase approach. It begins with financial literacy training before progressing to entrepreneurship development, incubation support, and access to tools needed to build viable, job-creating businesses.
“Through this innovative initiative, FATE Foundation is supporting low-income Nigerian youth to develop essential financial and entrepreneurial skills using accessible platforms.
“This support is not just helping individuals to succeed; it is building a solid foundation for sustainable enterprises that will drive job creation and contribute significantly to our nation’s economic vitality. This initiative is empowering and investing in the future of Nigeria, one youth at a time,” said Nneka Enwereji, MD/CEO Citibank Nigeria Limited.
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