Expert urges support for local startups
Chairman, Startup Consultative Forum, Engr. Hanson Johnson, has called for stronger institutional and industry support for local startups and innovators to develop homegrown solutions capable of addressing persistent challenges in
Chairman, Startup Consultative Forum, Engr. Hanson Johnson, has called for stronger institutional and industry support for local startups and innovators to develop homegrown solutions capable of addressing persistent challenges in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Johnson made the call while speaking at the 2026 Sub-Saharan Africa Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (SAIPEC) held at the Eko Convention Centre, where he stressed that Nigeria already possesses the critical talent required to drive indigenous innovation across the energy value chain.
Addressing participants at the NextGEN Africa Summit during the conference, Johnson said the future of the oil and gas industry lies in the ability of local technology-driven enterprises to provide practical solutions to operational inefficiencies, safety concerns and infrastructure gaps.
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According to him, “There are critical talents within our nation’s industry that can provide local solutions if given the right support. The future of energy innovation in Africa will not come from importing technology alone, but from empowering our startups and innovators to solve the problems that exist within our own environment.”
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He noted that bridging the gap between technology and the energy industry would enable Nigeria to move from dependence on foreign technical solutions to building a resilient innovation ecosystem capable of supporting exploration, production, safety and distribution processes.
Johnson emphasised that startups have the potential to deploy emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence to tackle longstanding sectoral challenges, including predictive maintenance of infrastructure and improved operational efficiency.
“Energy and technology are often viewed as separate worlds, but the reality is that a line of code can prevent a pipeline leak or optimise an entire power grid. These are the kinds of solutions our local innovators can build if industry stakeholders provide the needed backing,” he said.
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He urged oil and gas operators to engage directly with innovation hubs and emerging enterprises by presenting real industry problems for local developers to solve, rather than relying solely on external service providers.
“We must stop being consumers of global technology and begin to create solutions that are tailored to our local realities. Supporting indigenous startups is how we develop sustainable technologies that will address issues from gas flaring to infrastructure monitoring,” he added.
He maintained that increased collaboration between energy companies and innovation hubs would create opportunities for young professionals and entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to the transformation of Nigeria’s energy sector.
Johnson stressed that as Africa confronts the realities of energy transition, building local technological capacity would remain critical to ensuring efficiency, competitiveness and long-term sustainability within the oil and gas industry.
