Tech-Innovation Should Multiply Progress, Standards—Ndiokwelu

By Cosmas Chukwu—

The Founder of The Beaconsmith Collective, Engr Nzube Ndiokwelu, has urged youths to use the tech-innovation ecosystem to multiply and raise standards of technology and innovative ideas in the society.

Ndiokwelu made the call at a presentation on Wednesday at the ongoing Enugu Tech Festival (ETF) 2026, themed: “Coal to Code: Energy in New Form”, being held between Feb. 24 and Feb. 27.

He noted that technology right now is phenomenal, adding that it is not incremental anymore — it is compounding.

Ndiokwelu said, “AI, robotics, blockchain, media tooling, among others; the frontier is moving fast enough that a small group of serious people can change outcomes in a city within a short time.

“But let’s be honest. Technology does not automatically lift a society. Technology amplifies whatever the society already is. If we are coordinated, it multiplies progress. If we are fragmented, it multiplies noise.”

Ndiokwelu, who is a member of the Local Organising Committee of the ETF, said that for Enugu, the choice is plain.

According to him, we either unite around shared objectives and a shared standard of excellence, or we keep drifting backward with talent everywhere and results that do not last.

He said, “I like to keep ecosystem work simple. Every year must answer one question. What did you achieve in the last year that moved the ecosystem forward?

“In 2015, my output was coordination. I hosted one of Enugu’s earliest major developer gatherings in the Google Developer Festival era. At that time, the “product” was not a startup.

“The product was builders meeting builders, standards being set, and a local developer identity being activated. That was the foundation stage. You cannot build an ecosystem if people never meet and never raise the bar together.”

Ndiokwelu said that over time, another lesson became obvious, which is that events create energy, but energy leaks, adding: “If there is no structure after the event, the ecosystem resets. Same excitement. Same introductions. Same promises. Same drift.”

He said that his organization had moved from organizing people to building what makes progress stick.

Ndiokwelu, an Enugu tech ecosystem pioneer, noted that last year, the output moved from coordination to production.

“I pushed into the frontier and proved we can compete there. In 2025, I won Best AI Short Film at the Naija AI Film Festival in Lagos.

“That is not motivation. That is a receipt. It proves that when our builders and creators have tools, discipline, and environment, we can produce work that stands anywhere.

“And that recognition points to a bigger truth. Gatekeeping has reduced. Tool access has widened. The only remaining difference is standards and structure.

“That is why The Beaconsmith Collective exists. It is not another meetup. It is a creative lab and a community designed for continuity.

“It is built to make frontier work normal in Enugu. AI, Media production, and emerging technology exploration. Daily practice, not occasional excitement,” he said.

The tech executive noted that a lab alone is not enough, adding that a serious community needs an infrastructure layer and that it needs rules that hold. Records that last. Systems that make collaboration reliable.

According to him, a way to preserve work. A way to preserve credit. A way to preserve progress.

“That is what I mean by building a community on code. Not everybody writes software every day, but the community itself runs on clear standards, clear contributions, and clear receipts.

“So this is what Enugu Tech Fest means now. Not just a gathering. A checkpoint. A moment to align the ecosystem around excellence, and then convert that alignment into execution.

“Where next is also clear. We keep raising the output standard. We deepen the infrastructure layer so the ecosystem does not reset.

“We strengthen the physical node so building becomes rhythm. And we plug into wider international builder networks so our standards stay global while our work stays rooted here.

“Emerging technologies are already changing the world. The only question is whether Enugu consumes the change or produces it. We choose to produce,” he added.

The Beaconsmith Collective is a creative lab and community in Enugu advancing practical work across AI, blockchain, and emerging technologies.