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21st Century: America Corner is our commitment technology

Information communication technology (ICT) firm, 21st Century Technologies, has said the inauguration of the new America Corner in the company’s headquarters, Lekki, Lagos in partnership with the United States (U.S) is a demonstration of its commitment to the development and deepening of the nation’s technology ecosystem.

 Its CEO, Wale Ajisebutu, who spoke during the inauguration of the Corner by U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said the company believes in the power of partnership, adding that partnership held the key to success.

He said: "This is a testament of our dedication to tech advancement and of course, our passion for tomorrow's leaders. We have always believed in partnership as a key element of success. We want to be part of Nigeria's innovation journey to becoming most advanced digital services in Africa and beyond."

Blinken said America Corner which now has presence in approximately 60 countries was poised to foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity amongst youths.

He explained that US partnership with 21st century was deliberate and aligns with the country's objective to advance technology and creativity among Nigerian youths.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary Blinken thanked Ajisebutu for all he has done to help the tech space. He said: “Thank you for hosting the American Corner here at 21st Century Technologies.  Thank you for creating the digital infrastructure that is helping to empower people across Africa.  And thank you for the vision that you’ve had and that you’ve now put into practice.  It’s a very powerful thing.”

According to him, back in November of 2021, he had an opportunity to come to Nigeria and to talk about building a 21st century partnership, a 21st century partnership with Africa countries, and to move from those questions about what we can do for Africa to a different question, what can we do with Africa. 

“And I see this playing out in so many places now as we work together to meet shared challenges that no single one of us can effectively meet alone, and the bottom line, to actually deliver results to our people, because those of us who have spent some period of time in public office, that’s our responsibility.  That’s what we’ve been charged with.  A lot goes into that: promoting accountable government, strengthening security and stability, and especially expanding opportunity, which I think is at the heart of everything,” Blinken said.

The occasion was graced by government representatives from both Nigeria and US, including the United States Chargé d’Affaires, David Greene and Consul-General in Lagos, William Stevens as well as Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani.

Speaking to the leadership of Tijani, Blinken said: “And Mr. Minister, I am grateful to you for the partnership that we have between our countries but also for your extraordinary leadership and vision in making Nigeria a tech powerhouse.  I got a little bit of an example of that just a few minutes ago seeing some of the innovations taking place in this country.”

Welcoming the guests, Stevens said: “Thank you, Wale.  It is such an honor to work with you.  You’re a true pioneer in Nigeria’s technology space and a leader and someone we all love and admire.  Thank you.  And thank you for hosting us here and at the American Corner. It is such an honor to host Secretary Blinken today and to be here for the ribbon cutting of what will become the 26th American Space in Nigeria in 21 cities throughout the country.”

Speaking on Nigeria's moves to be the next destination for tech talent, Tijani said: "We are presently investing in talent, so we want Nigeria to become the next destination of technology talent in the world which is why we are training 3 million of such talents.  We intend to keep some and also want to become the next exporter of tech talents to the world.”

By the inauguration of the America Corner, 21st Century becomes one of the 245 centers where the US has established American Corners since 2000 and it is reputed to be first tech company in Nigeria to have deployed fibre optics network in 1997 and pioneered Nigeria's data centre infrastructure which has been shaping the country's digital landscape.

American Corner boasts of resources and facilities such as digital studio, workshops, multimedia and tech equipment, among others.

The facilities are made available freely for young Nigerians to explore their inventiveness, entrepreneurial, and creative interests.