What do people in tech want for Christmas?

·
December 27, 2023
·
4 min read
A collage of pictures of influential women in Nigerian tech

From layoffs to acquisitions, the Nigerian tech space has seen a lot. But as the year draws to a close, we reached out to some of the most influential people in Nigerian tech to share what the year has been like for them and what they want for Christmas.

In the 2022 edition, Ire Aderinokun of Helicarrier wanted bitcoin to reach $100,000, while Microsoft's Adora Nwodo wanted billions of dollars.

This year, we spoke to Nwodo again alongside some of Nigeria's most influential tech personalities, such as Wimbart's Jessica Hope, Eddidiong Asikpo, and Co-founder of Ingressive For Good, Blessing Abeng.

Here's a peek into what 2023 was like for them and what they want for Christmas.

Advertisement

Blessing Abeng, Co-founder, Ingressive for Good 

A black and while picture of Blessing Abeng

What was 2023 like for you?

I think 2023 was very interesting for me, it came with a lot of unexpected gifts. It is the year that I got listed on Forbes, I got to be on TV as a consultant for a programme, and it is also the year I dropped my hat as Director of Communications at Ingressive for Good.

If I could summarise it into three words, it would be rewarding, action-filled, and interesting.

What was the most shocking story of the year for you? 

The FTX story was really shocking and the whole week of Sam Altman, I think it could be a Netflix series on its own. And also all the wars that have happened this year.

What do you want for Christmas?

I really value experiences, so one of the gifts that I would really like — I might even gift myself — would be a trip to a place I'm not known. A place like Macedonia. I just want to have interesting experiences, try new food, new cultures, sleep, and do nothing.

Who would you like to see do this?

If I wanted to be selfish, I'd say my husband (Uwem Uwemakpan, Head of Investments at Launch Africa), so that I'd know what he wants and surprise him, but for sure, Uwem of Launch Africa should do this, and Dangote (Aliko Dangote, Chairman and CEO Dangote Group).

Be the smartest in the room

Join 30,000 subscribers who receive Techpoint Digest, a fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

Also, it'll be nice to see Ireayo Oladunjoye of Endeavour Nigeria, Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, CEO of NIGCOMSAT, and even Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation do this.

Jessica Hope, Founder, Wimbart

A picture of Jessica Hope

What was 2023 like for you?

It was a pretty bad year in general. As we all know, funding for the market really dried up, and for Wimbart, a PR agency, we're at the mercy of the market. However, we've managed to maintain our team and not make the difficult decisions that other companies in the ecosystem have had to make.

What was the most shocking story of the year for you?

I would say Silicon Valley losing Sam Altman and Binance's Changpeng Zhao, in very close succession.

What do you want for Christmas?

I would love to win seven more clients for Wimbart in December. It'll also be alright if Beyoncé came around for Christmas.

Adora Nwodo Software Engineer, Founder, NexaScale

Adora Nwodo

What was 2023 like for you?

I will say very interesting and different. There were a lot of firsts for me; I did things I'd not been able to do for a while. Another word for this year would be audacious — it was a good year.

What was the most shocking story of the year for you?

It has to be the Sam Altman story, it was very shocking.

What do you want for Christmas?

A couple of days ago, I went to Maybach to check if they had Black Friday deals, but they did not. That was quite sad. So yeah, Maybach for Christmas.

Edidiong Asikpo, Software Developer, Hashnode

Edidiong Asikpo

What was 2023 like for you?

A couple of months ago, I thought about it and I think 2023 is that year my dreams came true. That's not to say other years weren't great, but this is the year I was able to do a lot of the things I wanted to do as a child.

I've always wanted to go on a hot hair balloon in Cappadocia, visit Philadephia in New York, and a lot of other cities. I was able to do all those things this year.

It has also been an interesting year, career-wise. I got to speak at the KubeCon conference in Amsterdam — the biggest conference in the Kubernetes ecosystem.

What was the most shocking story of the year for you?

The most shocking story this year for me would be the Sam Bankman-Fried saga. And that's because last year was for Web3 and bitcoin — the whole ecosystem was booming. I even invested in NFTs, so it is shocking how drastically things changed.

What do you want for Christmas?

A trip. I want someone to tell me "hey I booked this trip for you, go there" That's what I want.

Who would you like to see do this?

Samson Goddy, the Founder of OSCAFEST the Open Source festival, he would be a great choice. It would also be cool if you interviewed Sultan. (Sultan Akintunde, AltSchool Co-founder).

He's a geek, a sucker for Blockchain and an all-round tech lover. Find me on Twitter @BoluAbiodun1.
He's a geek, a sucker for Blockchain and an all-round tech lover. Find me on Twitter @BoluAbiodun1.
Subscribe To Techpoint Digest
Join thousands of subscribers to receive our fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
This is A daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, sent directly to your email inbox, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m (WAT) every week day! 
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

He's a geek, a sucker for Blockchain and an all-round tech lover. Find me on Twitter @BoluAbiodun1.

Other Stories

43b, Emina Cres, Allen, Ikeja.

 Techpremier Media Limited. All rights reserved
magnifier