Five key talks to attend at Social Media Week, Lagos

This week (27 February – 3 March) Africa’s largest social media event takes place in Lagos. When set up five years ago, Social Media Week Lagos was the first of its kind of that scale, and the event still shows no sign of slowing its growth.

If you run a business or are interested in understanding how to achieve more in this hyper connected world, this conference is for you. Here are our top picks for talks to attend.

GE Lagos Garage 3D Printing Workshop

Date and Time: 2 March, 11:00 – 14:00

Host: GE

Description: “Come and learn how to make things using 3D Printing in GE Nigeria’s Lagos Garage- a hub for training, strategy development, advanced manufacturing-based innovation and collaboration.”

Future of Payments and Its Impact on Business in Nigeria

Date and Time: 28 February, 16:00 – 17:30

Host: Visa

Description: “Spurred on by advances in financial technology, the payments industry continues to evolve. Online payments are now faster, cheaper, safer and easier making the spread of technology open up trade and creating new opportunities for business… future of Payments looks to explore cashless technologies that offer freedom from rigorous traditional routines and how Visa is improving and shaping how we make payments in the future”

Fund a Start-up: A Guide to Becoming a Business Angel

Date and Time: 28 February, 13:30 – 14:30

Host: Lagos Angel Network

Description “The Lagos Angel Network is the pioneer Business Angel network in Nigeria. LAN is building a network of Nigerians who fund , mentor and provide access to startups at the early stage of their business. Professional angel investing requires training to ensure that funded start-ups get the best from the angel and angels improve their odds in making better investments.”

Gender Equality in the Digital Age

Date and Time: 1 March, 10:30 – 11:30

Host: Paradigm Initiative Nigeria

Description: “ICTs are powerful. They can help to deliver improved healthcare, quality education for all, financial inclusion, more accountable government, and much more. But a research carried out 2015 by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria and the Web Foundation in Nigeria (as in 9 other countries) revealed that women are 50 percen less likely than men to be online, and 30-50 percent less likely to use the internet for economic and political empowerment. 67 percent of women in Lagos reported being unable to afford a 1GB data plan. Just 36 percent of women on the survey in Lagos use the internet. Only 10 percent of those who use had ever searched for information on sexual and reproductive health online. Gender Equality in the Digital Age will speak to closing the gender gap in internet access, digital skill and online rights, and what national stakeholders can do to address the challenges and gaps for Nigeria’s women.”

The Co-World: Transformative Power of Technology, Content & Commerce

Date and time: 2 March, 10:30 – 11:30

Host: Troyka

Description: “From co-creation to collaborative design, to crowdsourcing to co-working, there has never been a more networked continent like Africa in the 21st century, and we are only getting started. Join us for an engaging panel discussion as we explore The Co-World: Transformative Power of Technology, Content & Commerce.”

If you can’t make it, or fancy round two, look out for Social Media Week in Nairobi (12-16 June)

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