The Uniccon Group of Companies says that its collaboration with Canada Trade Commission on Africa’s first humanoid robot “Omeife” is worth $12.6 billion.
Mr Chuks Ekwueme, the chairman of the group, said this when the Canada Trade Commissioner from Global Affairs Canada, visited its facilities in Abuja.
Chuks said that the projected value of the humanoid robot was worth it due to its Africa-centric design and capability features that were the first of its kind within and outside Africa.
He said that the visit was to discuss possible collaboration opportunities between the Canadian and Nigerian markets, on projects like Omeife and the company’s array of technologically-advanced products and services.
“Since the official unveiling of Africa’s first Humanoid Robot, Omeife, the invention has garnered interest all around the world, with various prestigious organisations pledging their support in the advancement of the project.”
The chairman said that in the future, the robot’s shares would be owned by investors, partners, the public, and organisations supporting the project.
He said that a military version of Omeife would be launched in 2023 to aid intelligence gathering and other investigative processes.
Chuks said some of the group’s upcoming projects for 2023 include: Special UAVs/Drones for security surveillance, SmartAfri, an e-commerce platform that was designed to be the one-stop shop for African-made goods/services.
He called for the support of the Federal Government to facilitate the availability of a database in Nigeria to aid in the area of intelligence gathering.
“The merging of Web 2.0 (SmartAfri) and Web 3.0 (Blockchain) into one product will make it possible for people to shop on SmartAfri and make payments using the SmartAfri token.
“This is one of the reasons behind the upcoming launch of SmartAfri Chain (Africa’s 1st Blockchain technology) that is slated for the first quarter of 2023,” he said.
Temitayo Dada, the Canada Trade Commissioner from Global Affairs Canada, said that it sought to explore areas of collaboration after learning about the group’s marketable and impact-driven products and services.
The duo took a tour of the company’s facilities, including the Chemistry research laboratory and the Robotics laboratory. (NAN)