As the world shifts deeper into the artificial intelligence, AI economy, Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, has advised Nigerian businesses to embrace data as an asset and the new oil so as to take her position in the global landscape.

He said unlike oil, data value grows, the more you refine it the more you are able to use it, adding that positioning Nigerian businesses is the opportunity because the country has everything it takes to be a leader in the AI-powered economy.

Speaking at the 10th FATE Business Conference with the theme: “The AI Powered Business: Innovate, Automate, Accelerate”, Hamza also said that AI will give Nigerian businesses the power to accelerate, or grow faster, reach more people, and create more impact than ever before.

He stated: “Acceleration means readiness. It requires businesses to invest in digital infrastructure, build the right talent, and adopt the mindset of agility. This creates the flywheel effect, those who move fast and smart will lead, those who wait will just be watching beside.

“AI might look invisible, but it is shaping the visible world of business, just like internet revolution defined the last 20 years, AI will define the next 20 to 30 years. The question is whether Nigerian businesses will be affected positively or negatively, it is either we lead the change or be left behind.

“If India is investing $100 billion in AI, we are not competing on that scale, the way to compete is for us to be involved in data. We have the talent, young, creative, hungry; we have the market, over 200 million people. We have the entrepreneurial spirit, resilient, innovative and we are bold.

“More importantly, the data says that feed AI must have African input; I think that’s where we need to worry. If not, the data set will be biased, and therefore defective.

The reality is how do we make sure that the data that feeds AI has African input?

So how do businesses now position? You must embrace data as an asset, it’s the new oil, but unlike oil, its value grows. The more you refine it, the more you are able to use it; we must not be a people that make up our mind without interrogating data, we make decisions in a biased way, in an emotional way, without interrogating the data.

Earlier in his keynote address, Chairman of GENAI Learning Concepts Limited, Sunny Iroche, said infrastructural challenges, particularly access to reliable power supply, could significantly hinder Nigerian businesses from maximizing the benefit of AI for entrepreneurs.

He advised Nigeria to build infrastructure that support AI or risk being left behind.

Also, Executive Director of FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, said the theme was carefully chosen to address the realities of business growth in a rapidly changing global landscape.

“From inception, this conference has been organized by members of the FATE alumni community with the vision of creating a space where entrepreneurs across programs, spaces, and sectors can come together to connect, network, learn, be inspired, and inspire others,” she said.