The Niger Delta is home to a growing community of young people, entrepreneurs, innovators, and technology professionals using technology to create opportunities and solve challenges across the region. As the digital economy expands, connecting talent, skills, investment, infrastructure, and innovation will be key to ensuring more people can participate and benefit.
To contribute to this conversation, PIND joined innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, students, technology professionals, and other stakeholders at the inaugural Warri Tech Summit 2026, themed From the Creeks to the Cloud: The Convergence, held on July 18, 2026, in Warri, Delta State. The summit explored the future of technology and innovation in the Niger Delta through conversations on building the Warri tech ecosystem, technology careers, artificial intelligence, Web3, and innovation.
Building an Innovation Ecosystem That Works for Everyone
As part of the summit, PIND’s Executive Director, Sam Ogbemi Daibo, delivered a keynote address titled From the Creeks to the Cloud: Building Inclusive Innovation Ecosystems for the Niger Delta. He highlighted the importance of creating an ecosystem where young people and communities can access the skills, networks, partnerships, infrastructure, and opportunities needed to participate in the digital economy.
“Innovation ecosystems, not isolated projects, create sustainable economic growth,” he noted
He also emphasized that technology should help address real challenges across the Niger Delta, from energy access and agriculture to climate resilience and maritime logistics, while ensuring that opportunities extend beyond major urban centers to riverine and coastal communities.
Connecting Young People to Skills and Opportunities
Drawing on more than 15 years of ecosystem building in the Niger Delta, PIND’s experience demonstrates how technology and innovation can expand opportunities for young people and strengthen communities.
Speaking during a panel on Building the Warri Tech Ecosystem, PIND’s Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) implementing partner, Jeremiah Utomi, shared practical perspectives on strengthening pathways for young people to participate in the technology ecosystem. His contribution also highlighted the role of initiatives such as PIND’s YEP program in connecting young people to market-relevant skills and opportunities.
Through YEP, PIND works with partners to strengthen pathways to jobs, internships, and enterprise opportunities, helping young people build the skills and connections needed to participate in a changing economy.
PIND also applies data and technology to development planning and peacebuilding, including through its Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) system. These experiences demonstrate how technology can create greater impact when connected to the skills, markets, partnerships, and systems that enable people and businesses to thrive.
Showcasing the Ideas Shaping the Future
Beyond the panel discussions, the summit provided a platform for startup founders, innovators, and student entrepreneurs to showcase solutions and ideas addressing real-world challenges.
The exhibition showcased the creativity and potential within the region’s emerging innovation ecosystem, demonstrating that the Niger Delta is not only a consumer of technology but also home to young people developing their own solutions.
However, turning promising ideas into sustainable businesses requires more than innovation alone. Stronger connections to mentorship, finance, markets, infrastructure, skills, and strategic partnerships will be critical to helping local ideas grow and scale.
From Conversation to Action
The Warri Tech Summit 2026 reinforced the need for stronger collaboration among young people, technology professionals, businesses, investors, government, academia, and development partners to build a more inclusive digital economy.
For PIND, the future of innovation in the Niger Delta lies in strengthening systems and partnerships that connect talent to skills, skills to opportunities, and local ideas to the investment and markets needed to grow.
As the region’s technology ecosystem evolves, PIND will support partnerships and initiatives that expand access to skills and opportunities, strengthen inclusive innovation ecosystems, and enable more people and communities across the Niger Delta to participate in and benefit from the region’s digital future.
