All week, YNaija has run stories looking at the growth of the Yaba technology ecosystem. Find them here, here, here and here. By any measure, especially given its starting point about 5 years ago, this growth has been impressive. The effect of this growth has seen the skyline of Yaba begin to change in ways that are already noticeable, and these changes are set to accelerate as the area becomes a magnet for even more tech talent.

Not that long ago, the debate moved to what name this new tech ecosystem should be called. In one of the articles, Bankole Oluwafemi even parried the question, saying that the ecosystem will decide on a name.

The current ‘reigning’ name is Yabacon, an obvious mirror of Silicon Valley, that has been vocally dismissed by some as lacking originality, in favour of ‘Yaba Right’ or just ‘Yaba’.

One of the great advantages of a connected world is that you can draw global attention by giving a global audience a reference point they can immediately key into.

This is not trivial. A world of information overload is increasingly driven by buzzwords that can quickly cut through the noise, hence acronyms like BRICs, MINTs, and so on.

Yabacon, lack of originality aside, immediately brings to mind a technology area similar to Silicon Valley, in a way ‘Yaba Right’ simply does not. ‘Right’ of where? Right after the bus stop? Right after the roundabout? The opposite of Yaba Wrong, perhaps?

As for just ‘Yaba’, it’s probably even worse. It speaks of a place, a spot on a map, without giving any idea of what actually goes on there. As a result, it falls flat as a name that is supposed to give an idea of an area where innovation takes place. You hear ‘Bollywood’, and anyone can guess that films are made there. It is the same for ‘Nollywood’ as well. Neither refer to an actual physical space like Hollywood, but they have piggybacked on that memory association to gain global recognition.

That global recognition is what the Yaba technology ecosystem has started to win on its own merits. Andela, CcHub and BudgIT are just three of its success stories, and more businesses are setting up shop in the area as well.

What those businesses have done is to showcase the talent that is available here, if exposed to the right opportunities. Many public officials talk in platitudes about ‘youth empowerment’, but these businesses have actually done that.

Yes it’s true that ‘Yabacon’ doesn’t quite roll off the tongue. It’s true that it tastes like imitation Coca-Cola. But the fact that its main challengers are ‘Yaba Right’, and just ‘Yaba’, tells you all you need to know. “Yabacon” is the best the ecosystem can do for now, and that name comes with own advantages.

At the heart of the resistance to ‘Yabacon’ is that it is a copy of something else. There is pride in originality, but it is easy to fetishize originality and lose sight of what matters.

All the progress in the world is the result of building on earlier progress, otherwise known as copying. Universally, there are principles that work, and there is a reason why people say they are not trying to ‘reinvent the wheel’.

The fact that Nollywood and Bollywood appropriated the Americans, does not take away anything from the unique niches those film industries occupy in their respective countries, and even beyond. The container is what draws the attention. The content is what keeps it.

This should be the focus of Yaba’s growing and globally recognized tech space: Getting and keeping attention for the value it creates, and the solutions it provides. A lack of originality in its name is beside the point.