Covenant University, Nigeria

I was present at ITU Telecom World with my own booth within the Nigerian National Pavilion, showcasing my low-cost, low-power GSM communication system for rural areas. Before the event, two companies reached out to me to schedule a meeting via the business matchmaking service, which led to extensive discussions and the imminent signing of an MoU. The event days provided me with an opportunity to interact with other participants, individual investors and captains of industry, from other countries and also from Nigeria. I was able to access decision-makers not normally available to me, present my solution and participate in collaborative discussions with a range of participants. Following a visit to my stand by the CEO of the leading telecom operator in Nigeria, we engaged in discussions which have continued after the event; I also was able to identify concrete areas of collaboration and partnership with a multinational investor present at the event. I benefited from reviewing the products and innovations from other countries exhibiting, identifying solutions which could be adapted to local challenges in Nigeria and initiating discussions on future collaboration. My participation at ITU Telecom World was deeply enriching. Coming from the academia, it gave me the opportunity to learn how to transition a research result into an industry product, and the connections required to enhance the quality of my research output and reduce my time to market.