Zuckerberg partners with Nigeria’s IT elite to bring info to millions

Nigerians keep winning and we keep simply getting better. There is still a LOT of work to be done in the nation by her citizens, but by God, there are small and not-so-small achievements too.

Before people jump out of the woodwork to question why Nigerians need Zuckerberg when we have Otedolas and Dangotes in this country, know this: businesses are based on being able to leverage on relationships and it always makes good business sense to take the offer on the table. Always. Facebook is a juggernaut that cannot be ignored or refused. If you wish to make information available to the millions who cannot afford data, it makes more sense to go with an unstoppable global information platform than a man who sells cement and spaghetti. It just does.

So, on to the real story: Mark Zuckerberg is partnering with several Air Tel, Jobberman and other Nigerian platforms and mobile apps to bring real-time, up-to-date basic information such as news, health information and services to the millions of Nigerians who do not have access to mobile data.

The innovation, known as Free Basics, which will be rolled out through the Internet.org platform: a Facebook-powered website dedicated to spreading news and information to the rest of the world that might not have access to the internet.

I, for one, am proud that Olalekan Elude, Ayodeji Adewunmi and Opeyemi Awoyemi  of Jobberman and Air Tel are working together with Zuckerberg on this project.

If knowledge is power, then the spread of knowledge can only serve to empower us.