Our 10th Anniversary Conference: Celebrating a Decade of Empowering Development

Preston Associates International Development (PAID), celebrated its tenth anniversary on the 8th of June, 2023. Our remarkable journey, which began in a small kitchen office, has paved the way for significant advances in research, data collection, and analysis processes. To commemorate this extraordinary achievement, we proudly launched the ground-breaking “Iwadii App” at a prestigious event in Abuja. This blog post captures the highlights and essence of our conference, shedding light on our invaluable contributions to enhancing development in Nigeria and Africa.

The centrepiece of our anniversarycelebration was the unveiling of the”Iwadii App.” This innovative application, developed by PAID,serves as a powerful tool for facilitating the collection of accurate andlocalised data. The Iwadii App empowers informed decision-making at variouslevels, ranging from households to national governments, by enablingresearchers, policymakers, and the general public to access reliable data. Werecognise the significance of indigenous data sources and seek to strengthenthe availability of Nigerian and African data, which is crucial for drivingmeaningful development in areas such as health, education, gender, and childand youth development.

Our visionary Chief Executive Officer, Dr Nkemdilim Ene,emphasised the importance of generating empirical data to counterbalancedecision-making based solely on influential voices. With our deep understandingof the African context, we hope to work closely with governments to collectcontextualised data that reflects the realities of Nigerian society. We hope tofacilitate more equitable decision-making and strong planning processes byproviding evidence-based research. We are convinced that access to accuratedata will enable governments to implement meaningful development initiativesand effectively address our people’s challenges.

Our journey from a kitchen office to our current position as aleading research organisation demonstrates our unwavering commitment to makinga difference. We prioritise social impact over profit, guided by avalue-centric approach. We have positively influenced the development space inNigeria by providing technical assistance to development partners and engagingin philanthropic activities over the last decade. Despite numerous challengesalong the way, our clear vision and perseverance have resulted in a successfultransformation, establishing us as industry innovators.

As we reflect on our incredible 10-year journey, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been part of our success story. We express our sincerest appreciation to the following individuals who played pivotal roles in making our anniversary event a resounding success:

Dr Eleanor Nwadinobi (President Medical Women’s International Association) for her inspiring words and acknowledgement of our achievements in the development space.

Dr Uzo Mkparu HCIB (CEO, Tech Scale), Dr Gbenga Peters, Dr Olubunmi Ajayi (CEO, Maddisonpine), and Dr Kene Mkparu (CEO, Komworld) for their participation as panellists in the engaging discussions on “growing resilient African businesses to compete globally”.

Associate ProfessorChandrashekhar Uppin (Baze University), DrFrancis Ohanyido, FAPH (International Public Health Forum), Prof. Adenike Osofisan (Chairman ofCouncil, Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria), Dr Nsikak Udofia (CEO, Silex Secure LabLimited), and Mr Abdulhamid Yahaya(Deputy Director, Global Health Informatics, Health Africa) for their valuablecontributions as panellists in the discussion on “the role of big data analytics andartificial intelligence in development sector research on the African continent”.

We also extend our deepest gratitude to our supporters, clients,and the community at large. Your unwavering support, trust, and belief in ourwork have driven our progress and success. We remain committed to making alasting impact and look forward to continuing our journey towards a brighterand more prosperous future.