Bosun Tijani's appointment as Nigeria's Minister of Communications, Innovation, and the Digital Economy can be said to have been widely acceptable among people within Nigeria's tech ecosystem.
This acceptability comes from Tijani's wealth of experience within the space and his direct and indirect influence in building some of the tech startups that form the pillars of the Nigerian startup scene.
These influences were made largely through CcHub, Nigeria's first tech hub founded by Tijani in 2010. The hub is now the largest in Africa with a physical presence in other African countries such as Kenya and
While Tijani is playing a significant part in growing Nigeria's tech ecosystem what skills and qualifications make a great candidate for his ministerial appointment?
Everything you need to know about Bosun Tijani
Here's everything you need to know about Bosun Tijani from his personal to educational and professional background.
Where's he from?
Tijani is from Itoko, Abeokuta South local government, Abeokuta, Ogun State. However, he was born in Agege Lagos on July 20, 1977.
Education
Tijani moved to Abeokuta from Lagos for his secondary school education. He attended Abeokuta Grammer School, Abeokuta, Ogun State, and proceeded to the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State, Nigeria for his university education.
At UNIJOS, Tijani got a diploma in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.
He continued his educational career with a Master's degree in Information Systems and Management from Warwick Business School and a PhD in Innovation and Economic Development at the University of Leicester.
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Executive and professional courses
At his ministerial screening, Tijani revealed he had gone through several executive and professional courses.
Some of them are;
- John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
- Stanford University, California, USA.
- African Leadership Institute, Kigali, Rwanda
- He's a fellow at the Centre for Democracy Development and Rule of Law at Stanford University.
- Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow
Professional career
Tijani has an impressive career progression. At age 21, he was the National Director, of AIESEC, a United Nations-affiliated non-governmental organisation run by youths.
After six years at AIESEC, he became a Business Development Manager at DeliveryKing. He moved from there to become Deployment Lead (Africa) at American technology company, Hewlett Packard (HP).
Tijani left Hewlett Packard in October 2005, and by November 2005, he became a Consultant on Internet and Communication Technologies at the International Trade Centre.
Just before he founded CcHub in 2010, he spent three years (2007 to 2010) at the UK business consulting firm, Pera.
It's been almost 13 years since he founded CcHub and within that time the hub has become a pan-African hub acquiring hubs in other parts of Africa.
Some of Tijani's accomplishments with CcHub
- Launch of $15 million accelerator for edtech startups in Nigeria and Kenya
- Acquisition of Kenyan tech hub eLimu
- Launch of Africa's first design hub in Rwanda
- Launch of ₦1 billion Growth Capital Fund
- Partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs to raise €20m for African startups.
