GE Launches ‘Garages’ Advanced Manufacturing Program in Lagos, Nigeria
Top image: The first group of trainees at the all-new GE Lagos Garage.
Image above: (From left) Lazarus Angbazo, CEO & President GE Nigeria; Abdul Ahmed Mustapha, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Wealth Creation & Employment; Keturah Ovio-Onoweya, CEO and Founder of Qeturah.com and Simeon Ononobi, Founder of Simple Pay participate in a panel discussion about how skills development is critical to the growth of the Nigerian economy. Image credits: Courtesy GE
By Yewande.Thorpe@GE.com
Co-located with the GE Lagos offices in Victoria Island, the Lagos Garage will offer a year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs
LAGOS, Nigeria, November 23, 2016/ —
GE launches its first ever permanent ‘garages’ installation in Lagos, Nigeria
The GE Lagos garage supports Government’s localization, skills development and job creation efforts in Nigeria
The Lagos Garages space features advanced manufacturing innovations like 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC mills, encouraging entrepreneurial growth and building a skilled workforce for the future
Leading Multinational, General Electric (GE) (www.GE.com) officially launched the permanent installation of the Lagos Garage, a hub for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration.
Co-located with the GE Lagos offices in Victoria Island, the Lagos Garage will offer a year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs. Participants will be trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies; 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters in the first-ever fabrication lab in Nigeria, driving innovation in the country. They will also learn how to apply the core principles of design thinking, product development, finance, marketing, sales, and customer acquisition in real-time to their ventures.
‘Innovation and technology are fundamental for Africa to better compete in a global frame work” said President & CEO, GE Nigeria, Dr. Lazarus Angbazo. “Innovation needs to be tailored to the specificities of local needs. “GE is pleased to encourage innovation in Nigeria and support SME development through skills-building initiatives such as these.”
GE created the Garages experience in March 2012 to reinvigorate interest in invention, innovation, and manufacturing in America. Programs have included custom projects, curated speaker sessions and workshops amidst a fully equipped advanced manufacturing space. This program went global with two workshops in Lagos in 2014 and has since grown to include several countries in Europe and the Middle-East.
The popularity of the program led to GE’s decision to commission a permanent space for the training of young Nigerians in advanced manufacturing and business development. By assisting with the development of the advanced manufacturing ecosystem in Nigeria, GE hopes to create jobs, build local knowledge and capability, and encourage technology-based innovation in the manufacturing sector.
“GE is proud to launch the Lagos Garage, a hub that is dedicated to accelerating the impact of some of Nigeria’s most promising entrepreneurs. We have set up a learning environment that is different from the traditional. We are combining both the classroom and the real-world – providing hands-on training in advanced manufacturing” said Patricia Obozuwa, Director of Communications & Public Affairs for GE Africa. We’re looking forward to seeing great ideas that come to the GE Lagos Garage being transformed into practical business models that ultimately create more jobs in Nigeria.”
While on the program and upon graduation, The Lagos Garage will provide the participants access to a robust mentorship network, supporting entrepreneurship with the aim of driving growth across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Distributed by APO on behalf of GE.Media Contact:
Yewande Thorne
Yewande.Thorpe@GE.com
About GE:
GE (NYSE: GE) (www.GE.com) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the “GE Store,” through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry.
