Tech4Dev Holds Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum Post Basic Digital Literacy for Rural Clusters in Northern Nigeria Program

…launches handbook and factsheet.

In a time of social distancing and government-enforced lockdowns to curtail the spread of COVID-19, digital technology has enabled the continuation of work, education, and communication. But for millions of people who are unable to use technology, being offline is economically and socially isolating. COVID-19 has further illuminated the ‘digital divide’, which is even more pronounced in Nigeria (worse in poor rural clusters of Northern Nigeria). Therefore, it has become pertinent, especially on this path to the new normal for the focus to be on digital literacy, to capacitate vulnerable populations to leverage technology for commerce, education, and communication to improve their socio-economic recovery and pandemic resilience and build a more prosperous future.

This and many more were the highlights of the Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum organised by Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev), a non-profit organization established to empower African communities with digital skills that will bridge the gap of unskilled labor needed for the future of work. This Forum served as part of activities to end weeks of training on the Basic Digital Literacy for Rural Clusters in Northern Nigeria. A project funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), where a total of 1,338 beneficiaries were empowered with basic digital literacy; of which over 600 of these beneficiaries were girls/women and 400+ were Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), across 10 states in Northern Nigeria where this program took place namely; Zamfara, Kaduna, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Sokoto, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Niger and Plateau states. 

In her opening remarks, The Head of Prosperity Fund Nigeria, Martha Bostock, was delighted on the progress of the program and the impact of changed lives the initiative was able to achieve, especially the focus being on vulnerable women and girls, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and other vulnerable groups. She said that “The UK Government is committed to supporting the advancement of the use of technology in Nigeria through various programs it is implementing with partners.” She also placed emphasis on how technology has created opportunities and leverage for vulnerable groups especially considering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of positioning itself as a thought leader in empowering African communities with digital skills, Tech4Dev also used the opportunity of the Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum to launch a Handbook and Factsheet which is an offshoot of the just completed Basic Digital Literacy for Rural Clusters in Northern Nigeria to highlight insights and learnings from the program, which they encourage other like-minded organizations in the skills development space to deploy as a framework for such initiatives in the country and Africa at large. 

The Handbook and Factsheet were launched by the Honorable Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clement Agba who reiterated the importance of partnerships that drive towards ensuring the availability of opportunities for underserved communities and positively impacts the quality of human capital within the country. 

Speaking during the presentation of key learnings and challenges from the Factsheet, Diwura Oladepo, Executive Director at Tech4Dev reiterated that “our focus is to get as many Nigerians as possible, especially in the rural areas to become digitally literate. The world is fast-moving, and we must move with it. It is true that there are a lot of gaps that affect our work, but we must work with what we must, to achieve the results we want. Support from Government and community stakeholders has helped to amplify impact and we believe the lessons learnt will inform the scalability of our efforts.”

The forum had representatives from the host state governments and supporting stakeholders that facilitated the implementation of the programme, as well as beneficiary groups and key stakeholders from the Federal Government of Nigeria in attendance.