The South-East needs to embrace digital transformation and innovation to unlock its economic potential and strengthen the region’s position as a major commercial hub in Nigeria, organisers of the forthcoming Pivot Conference 4.0 have said.

The conference, organised by The Pivot Africa, is expected to bring together thousands of stakeholders to discuss ways technology and digital tools can be deployed to accelerate business growth, entrepreneurship and shared prosperity across the region.

Speaking during an interactive session with journalists at Kodex Africa in Awka, Anambra State, over the weekend, Executive Director of The Pivot Africa, Ifedi Ralph Eze, said the initiative was designed to help people in the region define their digital and economic future.

Eze said the South-East was lagging behind other geopolitical zones in digital awareness and adoption despite its reputation as one of Nigeria’s major centres of commerce.

According to him, technology is increasingly disrupting traditional business models, making it important for traders, entrepreneurs, students, professionals and other stakeholders to understand and adopt digital platforms.

He said digital platforms could increasingly enable people to access products, services and markets without depending solely on traditional forms of importation and physical transactions.

Eze urged residents of the region to take advantage of emerging digital opportunities, stressing that access to knowledge, networks and technology would be critical to turning business ideas into sustainable enterprises.

“The Pivot Conference is for digital transformation, shared growth and prosperity for all. Digital transformation is no longer a conversation reserved for technology companies.

“Across our communities, there are people building businesses, developing skills, creating solutions, leading organisations and solving problems. There are young people with enormous potential, women building remarkable enterprises, professionals creating value, and businesses looking for the right connections and opportunities to grow.

“But potential alone is not enough. People need access. They need knowledge. They need networks. They need platforms. And sometimes, they simply need someone to open the right door,” he said.

Conference to connect businesses with opportunities
Eze explained that The Pivot Africa had continued to create different platforms and experiences throughout the year to connect people with knowledge, mentorship, business opportunities and professional networks.

He identified the Pivot Challenge Bootcamp as one of the initiatives designed to encourage participants to develop practical solutions while gaining exposure to entrepreneurship, technology and innovation.

The bootcamp, he said, would challenge participants to think creatively, build solutions and explore ways technology could be applied to address real-world problems.

The journalists’ engagement also featured selected speakers and digital economy advocates who discussed the role of digitisation in business development and community transformation.

Participants shared experiences and practical perspectives on how businesses, community leaders and women in technology could use digital tools to improve productivity, expand their markets and connect with new opportunities.

5,000 participants expected in Awka
The organisers said no fewer than 5,000 participants are expected at Pivot Conference 4.0, scheduled to hold at the Stanel Dome in Awka later in October.

Expected participants include policy leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, educators, women in technology, grassroots innovators and students.

The conference is expected to provide a platform for participants to exchange ideas, establish networks, access mentorship and explore opportunities within the digital economy.

One of the speakers, Favour Ogidi, who spoke on women in power, said women were increasingly being empowered to contribute to transformation through the digital revolution.

The organisers said the broader objective of the conference was to close digital gaps in the region and create an environment where technology, entrepreneurship and innovation could contribute to inclusive economic growth.

For the South-East, the discussions come amid growing attention on how digital adoption can complement the region’s established commercial and entrepreneurial culture by opening access to wider markets, financing, skills and business networks.

The machines remain. Employees report for work. Customers place orders. But the supplier who extended credit dealt only with the owner.

Critical decisions were never explained. Much of the knowledge required to operate the enterprise has left with the person who built it.

The collapse may appear sudden. But its foundations were laid years earlier, whenever personal authority replaced processes that others could understand, operate and improve.

A recent invitation to speak to an Igbo cultural group about businesses that outlive their founders sharpened this concern.

We rightly celebrate entrepreneurial courage.

We speak less often about the discipline required to keep a business alive after the person whose courage created it is gone.

That discipline demands an uncomfortable transition.

The instincts that help a founder establish a company do not necessarily equip it to endure.

In the beginning, close control can protect scarce resources, prevent waste and enforce standards. Later, the same control can prevent others from developing judgement.

A business may expand its workforce, premises and revenue while its decision-making capacity remains confined to one person.

We should understand why founders resist letting go.

Many have risked personal savings, endured betrayal and built enterprises in environments where dependable support was scarce.

To them, governance can sound like an invitation to hand hard-won assets to people who never shared the struggle.

Trust cannot be prescribed by a consultant’s presentation.

But distrust cannot become a permanent operating model either.

When managers need permission for every consequential decision, they learn that obedience is safer than initiative.

The founder then interprets their passivity as evidence that nobody else can lead.

His indispensability becomes both the problem and the justification for preserving it.

A deeper issue emerges: the business can become inseparable from the founder’s identity.

Sharing authority feels like diminishing one’s achievement.

An independent board feels intrusive. A capable successor feels threatening.

Institution-building therefore requires emotional maturity as much as technical competence: the confidence to remain the founder without remaining the centre of every decision.

Succession is consequently much more than naming an heir.

A will can distribute shares. It cannot supply judgement, establish working relationships or resolve every dispute about authority.

Ownership and management must be distinguished.

Children may inherit an economic interest without acquiring an automatic entitlement to lead.

Those who seek executive responsibility should demonstrate competence and accept scrutiny.

Family ownership itself need not weaken a company. It can encourage patience, commitment and a long-term outlook across generations.

The danger arises when affection shields poor performance, or when preserving family privilege takes precedence over preserving the enterprise.

Protecting a child from accountability today may leave that child responsible for a business they cannot manage tomorrow.

Nor is hiring professionals enough.

Managers need authority proportionate to their responsibilities. Directors must be able to question the owner without losing their seats.

Financial records must distinguish corporate resources from household spending.

Governance becomes credible when it constrains the founder as well as everyone else.

The work should begin while correction is still possible.

Document critical knowledge. Develop managers through decisions they genuinely own. Establish clear arrangements for succession and disagreement. Test continuity through planned periods of the founder’s absence.

What fails during a fortnight away reveals what needs attention before a permanent departure.
The aim is not to erase the founder’s judgement, but to make its lessons available to others.

Nigeria needs a richer measure of entrepreneurial achievement.

A thriving business is admirable. An enterprise capable of renewing its leadership is a more durable contribution.

Its value lies partly in the opportunities it preserves for people who will never meet its founder.

Every business owner should ask a simple question:

What would stop working tomorrow if I were unavailable?

Then begin removing those dependencies.
That is where legacy becomes practical.

The founder’s final responsibility is to prepare the enterprise for a future in which their presence can no longer answer every problem.

The Federal Government and the Lagos State Government have agreed to collaborate on the implementation of a 24/7 Energy Zones pilot aimed at delivering stable and reliable electricity to homes, businesses and industries across Lagos.

The agreement was reached during a high-level technical meeting between the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the Lagos House, Marina.

The Federal Ministry of Power disclosed this in a statement on Monday, noting that the initiative was approved by President Bola Tinubu as part of efforts to improve electricity supply in major commercial and industrial centres across the country.

According to the ministry, Lagos will serve as the starting point for the Energy Zones pilot, which will subsequently extend to the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridors.

The initiative is expected to provide a framework for addressing challenges across the electricity value chain and improving the reliability of power delivered to high-demand areas.

Tegbe said the Ministry of Power had engaged electricity distribution companies operating along the Lagos corridor and secured commitments from them to increase their power offtake and deliver more consistent electricity to consumers.

“The Ministry had engaged and secured commitments from the distribution companies to offtake more power and deliver steady and reliable electricity to customers along the Lagos corridor,” he said.

The minister also said the Federal Government was prepared to work closely with the Lagos State Government on four priority areas identified for the implementation of the initiative.

The areas include grid stabilisation, market liquidity, grid expansion, and governance and regulatory harmonisation.

The collaboration is expected to address technical, financial and regulatory challenges that have continued to affect electricity supply and the efficiency of the power market.

Sanwo-Olu commended the Federal Government delegation for its commitment to addressing challenges in the electricity sector.

The governor said Lagos was ready to support practical solutions aimed at improving the state’s electricity market, stressing the importance of collaboration between the Federal Government, the state government and other stakeholders.

“We need to work out pragmatic solutions to make the sector work for Nigerians, and Lagosians in particular, creating a bankable, collaborative and competitive electricity market in Lagos,” Sanwo-Olu said.

As part of efforts to move the initiative from planning to implementation, the meeting agreed to establish a joint technical committee.

The committee will be responsible for resolving outstanding technical and operational issues and recommending the next steps required to implement the 24/7 Energy Zones initiative.

The committee will report to a steering committee headed by Sanwo-Olu and co-chaired by Tegbe.

Other members of the steering committee include the Special Adviser to the President on Power, Dr Lanre Babalola; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, Alh Mahmuda Mamman; and the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy, Biodun Ogunleye.

The meeting was also attended by Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat; managing directors of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, Nigerian Independent System Operator and Rural Electrification Agency; as well as senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Power and Lagos State Government.

The development followed an earlier engagement between the Federal Government and electricity distribution companies over the proposed Energy Zones.

Last week, Tegbe held a closed-door meeting with the leadership of selected distribution companies to discuss the proposed zones, which are designed to deliver stable 24-hour electricity to homes, businesses and industries in the country’s major demand centres.

The targeted areas are the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and Enugu-Port Harcourt corridor.

The Federal Government said the initiative was designed to tackle electricity distribution constraints and ensure that power generated and transmitted through the national grid reaches consumers more reliably, particularly in locations with high commercial and industrial demand.

For Lagos, the pilot is expected to bring together federal and state authorities, power distributors, transmission operators and other sector stakeholders to address the technical and operational issues limiting reliable electricity supply.

The establishment of the joint technical and steering committees is expected to provide the coordination structure for translating the government’s 24/7 electricity commitment into concrete implementation measures.