By Henrietta Madichie
Anambra State has taken its innovation drive to the global stage, with the Solution Innovation District (SID)—the flagship initiative of Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration—presented at the 42nd World Conference of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP) in Beijing, China.
For three days, the conference gathered leaders of some of the world’s most advanced technology hubs, giving Anambra a rare platform to share its story and forge partnerships with global innovation managers, investors, and policy makers.
Representing the State Government, Ms. Chinwe Okoli, Special Adviser to the Governor on Innovation and Business Incubation and CEO of the SID, delivered a keynote presentation titled “Bridging Continents Through Innovation”. She outlined Anambra’s journey in building a future-ready innovation ecosystem anchored on Governor Soludo’s vision to make the state a digital and economic hub.
“Innovation must be borderless,” Ms. Okoli told the international audience. At the Solution Innovation District, we are executing Governor Soludo’s vision to build bridges between Africa, Asia, Europe, Middle East and the Americas so that talent, technology, and opportunities can flow without barriers.”
Her address focused on cross-border collaboration as a tool to solve Africa’s paradox of rapid digital growth amid high youth unemployment. She stressed that with the right partnerships, Africa’s young population could become a global advantage rather than a challenge.
Throughout the conference, Anambra’s delegation showcased SID’s bold interventions: Training 1 million youths in digital skills to create a new workforce for the digital economy, developing the 13.7-hectare SID innovation city on the grounds of the historic Old Government House, complete with AI labs, robotics centers, and research facilities, and positioning Anambra as a model subnational government, being the first in Nigeria to fully invest in a government-backed innovation district.
For Ndi-Anambra, the benefits of this global engagement are clear. By situating the state in conversations with top global innovation clusters, SID opens doors for investment, research collaborations, startup support, and international mentorship opportunities for young innovators and professionals. The partnerships under discussion at Beijing promise to connect Anambra’s entrepreneurs with global markets and networks.
The three-day representation culminated in new Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) being explored on the sidelines of the conference—deals that could see international technology transfer and business collaborations flow directly into the state.
With this appearance, Anambra State has firmly registered its name on the global innovation map. Governor Soludo’s foresight in establishing the SID has not only won international recognition but is also creating tangible opportunities for Ndi-Anambra—proving that the state’s transformation agenda is not just local rhetoric but a global reality in the making.
Henrietta is of the Ministry of Information, Anambra State
