Ogidi Chidinma Favour and Ebelo Goodness
DevFest Benin 2025 was held in Benin City, bringing together developers, students, and technology enthusiasts for a day of learning, collaboration, and innovation. The annual event served as a platform for knowledge-sharing, policy dialogue, and exposure to emerging trends in technology, particularly artificial intelligence and cloud solutions.
The welcome address was delivered by the host, after which the convener, Mr Joseph Origho, was introduced. He welcomed participants and noted that this was the 14th DevFest event in Benin City. He recalled that the first DevFest in the city had just 15 attendees, compared to the large turnout at this year’s event. He described the growth as encouraging and satisfying.
Mr Origho also spoke about Google Developer Groups (GDG), explaining that it is a global community created to bring developers and tech enthusiasts together to learn, connect, and grow. He said GDG started in 2011 and now has over 3,000 members in Benin City.
The first keynote speaker, Mr Martin Arebun, Special Senior Assistant (SSA) to the Edo State Government, spoke on the role of government in the tech space. He said the government is meant to be an enabler, not a competitor. He shared plans to set up STEM labs across Edo State and create a tech-friendly environment where students will receive training from January, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education. He added that the goal is to make Edo State a strong tech hub in the South-South region.
The second keynote speaker, Peter Nnachor from Gritini AI, spoke on building responsible and inclusive AI products. He highlighted four key values: curiosity, courage to move forward, hunger for change, and the ability to listen. He also spoke on youth potential and the need for focus, discipline, and curiosity beyond money.
The third keynote speaker, Dr Golden, spoke on starting early and building businesses that scale. He explained that students have an advantage because they can fail, learn, and recover faster. He stressed that hustle is for survival, while systems are for scaling, and that businesses grow through delegation, not force. He encouraged students to graduate with skills, systems, and experience, not just certificates.
Another session was led by Engr. Dr Isi Edeoghon, who spoke on building safe, secure, and scalable AI and cloud solutions.
Sir Destiny also spoke on the Gemini ecosystem, AI research, and how tools like NotebookLM can be used as a “second brain” to organise information and improve results. He later spoke on building AI-powered apps using Firebase and Vertex.
The event featured an interactive panel session where speakers answered questions from the audience. DevFest Benin 2025 came to an end at 4:30pm.
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