Devfest Lagos boosts entrepreneurship and innovation.
The city of Lagos hosted the 2nd edition of Devfest Lagos, an event that attracted around 215 participants and was marked by the sharing of the latest trends in artificial intelligence (AI), business, entrepreneurship, and digital marketing. Organised by Lagos câmara with the Google Developer Group (GDG) Lagos, the event reinforced the municipality’s commitment to fostering the development of entrepreneurship and these trend areas in the county.
The 11th of October was dedicated to a series of workshops in various locations around the city, with the highlight being the sessions held at the Júlio Dantas and Gil Eanes Secondary Schools, which were attended by 10th, 11th and 12th-grade classes. The workshop ‘The Copilot Race: Gemini Code Assist and Its Competitors’, led by Luiz Carneiro, and the session ‘First Steps with GenAI as a Mobile Developer’, with Elaine Dias Batista, gave students an introduction to the world of AI and code assist tools. These initiatives gave young people the opportunity to learn directly from professionals linked to Google and to get to grips with the latest technological innovations, reinforcing the importance of bringing these areas closer to the school environment.
The cycle of workshops held the day before the main event included two more sessions – one at the Fábrica do Empreendedor de Lagos and the other at Câmara Municipal de Lagos – and the total number of participants totalled 132 people.
The highlight of the event took place on 12 October at the town hall, where a number of talks were held, with 83 people taking part. The event shared knowledge in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), business, entrepreneurship and marketing. The morning began with Patty O’Callaghan, who presented the challenges of AI governance, addressing ethical and regulatory issues that are fundamental to the future of this technology. Patrícia Cardoso then took a practical approach to business management with her stress-free business guide, offering strategies for managing day-to-day work with balance. Later in the morning, Simone Cimiluca-Radzins explained her wealth-building system, outlining four essential pillars for entrepreneurs who want to achieve financial success. Tomás Ziobrowski emphasised the importance of personal branding in today’s professional world, highlighting how it can be a determining factor for success.
In the afternoon, the focus was on the application of AI in the business world. Cristiano Carmo, a native of Lagos, demonstrated how AI can help optimise lead conversion on platforms such as the AMAZON Marketplace, revealing effective strategies for increasing sales. Kenneth Rohde, meanwhile, gave a detailed overview of the impact of AI technologies on the development of PCs and the fundamental role they play in the modern era of the web. To round off the day, Juan Carlos González shared his experience of developing an entrepreneurial lifestyle, offering tips on how to align personal and professional life to achieve a sustainable balance.
The municipality also collaborates with two of its most dynamic projects in entrepreneurship: the Lagos Entrepreneur Factory and the Municipal Cowork Space—CoLagos. These projects bring the knowledge and network of their communities to the event, playing an essential role in boosting and organizing it.
Sandra Oliveira, the local councillor responsible for entrepreneurship, emphasised the importance of this event, not only because of the transmission of knowledge in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and entrepreneurship but also because of the importance of networking between GDG Lagos, Fábrica do Empreendedor and CoLagos, as well as the role played by the Entrepreneurship Service of Lagos Town Hall. He also emphasised the importance of the Espaço Empresa, available in the Town Hall building, which offers support services for employment and business creation, among other important resources for local economic development.
In partnership with GDG Lagos, this event not only promoted direct contact between young people and the local community with professionals linked to Google and other areas of innovation but also reinforced Lagos’ role as a place of development and entrepreneurship through the municipality’s continued support for initiatives that boost the economy and prepare the community for the future.
