SV-NED hosts the Acting-Consul General for Nigeria House, New York NY. After pledging support to the United Nation 2020 Development Goals.
Dusting the flames off from the successful completion of the United Nations Women in Technology Conference; which attracted top talents and guest speakers from NYU, UPENN, LinkedIn, IBM Watson’s Group and the University of Calabar, Nigeria. SV-NED, under the leadership of Chairman/CEO Chief Temitope Ajayi and Denise Williams, President & Cofounder created awareness for the United Nations SDG goals for 2020.
SV-NED has been operating out of Silicon Valley since 2016, brick by brick, the team continues to charge ahead to build a bridge of economic prosperity between Nigeria and Silicon Valley. SV- NED has demonstrated this through the successful completion of two Immersion Training & Certification Programs with a graduating class of 120 people all from Nigeria. Come, Spring 2019 SV-NED will return to bring the 3rd Immersion Program to 5 States with the projection to train over 5000 people within the course of 5 weeks. In addition, SV-NED Inc. was also responsible for officially inviting and welcoming the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbanjo, Minister of Defense, Mansur Dan Ali, and cultural leader His Imperial Majesty, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II to Silicon Valley.
On Thursday, November 8th, Nicholas Ella, the Acting-Consulate General Nigeria House, New York, NY arrived in Silicon Valley for a high powered 3-day economic summit to meet top City of San Jose officials, Office of Protocol City of San Jose and key businesses operating in the Agri Tech and Info Tech sector hosted by SV-NED Inc.
The first stop was at Tesla Motors Headquarters, where the Acting-Consulate General test drove a white on white leather interior Model N. Second stop for the Acting-Consulate was at 42 Silicon Valley. 42 is an innovative engineering and programming college that offers rigorous, industry-leading education in a professional environment. Their program is designed to prepare students for the workplace using an instructional design that means students learn skills for the digital world and for the technology industry. During the tour of the campus, discussions were held about areas of collaboration between Nigeria, SV-NED and 42.
After a visit to the 42 campus, the Acting-Consulate General was escorted to a Nextplay Jam Session to unwind and meet young Africans in Diaspora who works and operates in leading Silicon Valley tech companies including Linkedin, Netflix, and Twitter. Nextplay Founder/CEO, Lesley Toche, welcomed the Consul with open arms while explaining key milestones of his organization stating, “Nextplay is a growing community of 5000+ professionals of color in tech. We help people of color discover exciting career opportunities in tech through cultural events.” You too can be a part of this community by visiting their website www.Nextplayevents.com.
On, Friday, November 9th the Acting-Consulate visited the City of San Jose’ Mayor’s Office. His meeting was with the City Manager, Mr. Joseph Hedges where a discussion was held regarding an initiative to set up the very first education exchange program degree between the local Universities like San Jose State University and select universities in Nigeria. In addition, a proposal for developing a Nigerian Trade and Investment Agency powered by SV-NED Inc will be created to address investment opportunities in trade. Thereafter, a meeting was held at the College of International and Extended Studies, San Jose State University to begin the conversation on the proposed student Exchange program between Nigeria and the United States.
The evening concluded at the Congressional Black Caucus event with a meeting with the Mayor of the City of San Francisco, CA, London Breed.
Day 3 final day of the Economic Summit, Saturday, November 10th the Council and the SV-NED team shifted their focus to the Agricultural technology sector and visit Salinas, CA. In Salinas, the Acting-Consulate General was greeted by 3x Mayor of Salinas and Consulting Director for Western Growers, Dennis Donohue, and Mr. Francis Adenuga VP Technical Service Church Brothers -True Leaf Farms.
The recent visit to the Silicon Valley and Salinas Valley by the Acting-Consulate General Nicholas Ella Esq. showcased among many other events, the best of California growing region Salinas Valley, commonly referred to as the “Salad bowl” of the world. The visit was co-organized by Silicon Valley — Nigeria Economic development (SVNED) and Western Growers Association led by Mayor Dennis Donohue
The Salinas Valley’s rich and fertile agricultural ground is nestled between the Sierra /Santa Lucia mountains and the Pacific Ocean. California Ag value is over $60B annually, and Salinas Valley Ag value is over in Crop grown in the valley are some of the best in the world.
Following the visit to the Green Fields, Hartnell College Dean opened its doors to the delegation. The Agriculture program at Hartnell College offers an Associate of Science degree and a Certificate of Achievement in Agriculture Business, Agriculture Production, Small Farm Operation and Management, Sustainable Crop Management or Food Safety. Internships and work experience are an important part of the program, providing students with experience and networking opportunities in the local produce industry.
The Acting-Consulate General held discussions with the Dean of Hartnell College, the biggest manufacturer for agricultural machinery. The conversations covered a wide range of topics, from establishing an exchange program with Hartnell and Nigeria to areas of Agricultural collaboration between the AG Tech Private sector in Salinas and the Nigerian private sector with similar interests.
Education is key for advancement and future of Farming. Agric Tech along with sustainable farming are key areas of educational focus and commitments supported by the Western growers association (WGA). Western Growers Association demonstrated this during the recent visit to Hartnell college where the Acting-Consulate General was introduced to the Dean of Advanced Technology and Technical training, Clint Cowden.
The dean outlined training program available at the college that’s geared towards Agric Tech and Farm mechanizations. The dean also offers partnership opportunity for a customer training program specific for Nigeria youth and young farmers as part of the sustainable transfer of knowledge and Agric Tech in Nigeria.
The last stop during the Acting-Consulate General visits Salinas Valley was at Church Brothers/True Leaf Farms state of the art Salad processing operation. The operation processed over 1Million pound of fresh vegetables daily and also shipped over 500,000 cases of field packed commodities in addition to the processed product.
The product harvested and processed are distributed across the US and internationally to Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asian countries. The 3-day Economic Summit hosted by SV-NED was put to a close with an award presented to the Acting-Consulate General and SV-NED from the top Elected City Officials of Salinas, CA. The award was presented by the 3x Mayor Dennis Donohue to the Consulate General of Nigeria House, New York NY.
To find out more about registering for upcoming SV-NED Economic Summit or Immersion Programs visit www.svned.com.