The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has applauded the manufacturing of the first Natural Liquefied Gas, NLG stove.
The stove would be unveiled this month. Its mass production at the (Yaba) Lagos Hub centre by eight young Nigerians under the tutelage of the Unicorn Group, it was gathered, would commence before the end of the year.
The Minister assured the company of the government’s support in achieving its innovative ideas, especially in developing youths, including those from disadvantaged communities.
He said: ”This is where dreams come true.This is where ideas are born and they become reality. Having the young ones, from primary to secondary to tertiary institutions, to see the best of Nigeria and the best of Africa is massive.
“Unicorn is watering the seeds of innovation. Unicorn is showing that impossible is not Nigerian, not African. Thank you for believing in Nigeria and for putting your money where your mouth is.”
He said the decision to visit is not just to see the great job that Unicorn is doing, but also to help tell the world what Unicorn is doing, adding: ”This is why I have come with about 25 journalists from various media establishments to see and showcase Unicorn’s groundbreaking work to the world.
The Minister toured Unicorn and met with some of the companies that have been incubated.
The Minister also visited the stands of the ‘6 Charge Bar’, the company that provides phone battery charge solutions; ‘Inschool’, which leverages technology to take education, irrespective of where they are Edusko, which is connecting parents with good schools as well as I & 0 fashion which caters for women.
The Chairman of Unicorn, Dr. Akintoye Akindele, said: “Where you are is the first Unicorn campus of our other campuses around the world. This was where we birthed the idea that for Africa, particularly Nigeria, to start achieving its potential. We must marry education with innovation and with skills.”
He said to achieve the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have to be supported to transit into mega companies.
He decried the current situation in which less than 10 of the 900 Unicorn companies around the world are in Africa and urged Nigeria to emulate countries like China and India where smaller companies were nurtured and supported to become mega corporations.
