FG, Tech4Dev, others empower Nigerians with 150 million naira in digital assets

The federal government, Tech4Dev, and the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) have inaugurated a digital skills competition aimed at the empowerment of Nigerians with digital assets worth 150 million naira.
The federal government through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Tech4Dev, and the FCDO launched the programme in Abuja targeting youths, civil servants, and women.

The initiative tagged #DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0, Africa is the largest free digital skilling competition aimed at empowering 2 million Nigerians with basic and intermediate digital skills.

According to the founder of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, the initiative offered participants the chance to win over N150 million in cash and other prizes.

The launch which took place at Ventures Park in Abuja, also coincided with the United Nations International Day of Education.

The organizers said the #DigitalForAllChallenge was structured to promote the learning and proliferation of digital skills in Nigeria through an incentivized structure.

Our correspondent gathered that the program is open to participants in all the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The programme would focus on three distinct categories: Young learners (ages 8-15), Youth (16-45), and Civil Servants nationwide.

Ogunsola said the #DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0 spans 12 months and is divided into three phases.

He said: “The first phase is a 6-month Learning Phase that focuses on knowledge acquisition, followed by a 2-month Competition Phase with emphasis on practical application and mastery of the acquired skills – this competition phase happens at state, regional and national level and the final stage is the national grand finale that brings together all regional champions across the 3 target categories; Young Learners, Youth and Civil Servants for the selection of the winners.

“Winners in the Young Learners’ category stand a chance to win cash scholarships, with the national winner receiving 10 million Naira, the first runner-up will receive 7.5 million Naira, and the second runner-up will receive 5 million Naira.”According to the initiative, “the teacher of the National Winner would receive 5 million Naira while an ICT lab would be opened in the National Winner’s school in collaboration with NITDA.

“In the Civil Service category, the national winner secures a 10 million Naira cash prize, the first runner-up will receive 7.5 million Naira, and the second runner-up will receive 5 million Naira.

“For the Youth Category, under the basic level, the national winner secures a 10 million Naira cash prize, the first runner-up will receive 7.5 million Naira, and the second runner-up will receive 5 million Naira while the intermediate level of the youth category winner will take home 15 million Naira, the first runner-up will take home 12.5 million Naira, and the second runner-up will receive 10 million Naira.”

Speaking further, Ogunsola emphasized that #DigitalForAllChallenge2.0 is more than a training program.

It is a platform to encourage Nigerians to embrace the digital economy and reward people’s commitment towards positive change, he said.

Ogunsola said: “We believe that digital skills are the bedrock of a brighter future for all Nigerians. That’s why we’re thrilled to launch #DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0, the largest free digital skilling program in Africa, in partnership with the FCDO and NITDA.

“The #DigitalForAllChallenge2.0 is not just about equipping Nigerians with digital skills; it’s about unlocking their potential to drive positive change and be rewarded for it.”

The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, said: “For me, there’ll never be a more perfect time to have this conversation because we have been investing in advancing digital skills for Nigerians and we believe that if we want to make an impact and create value, we need to work as a team, hence, the reason we partnered with Tech4Dev on this #DigitalForAllChallenge journey.

“We want every Nigerian to have access to digital education and if we want to develop digital skills from basic to advanced level, we feel that through a challenge of this sort that will be interesting for youth to be part of, we can get millions of Nigerians trained.”

Deputy High Commissioner, FCDO, Mrs Gill Lever added, “I wholeheartedly commend this initiative as a beacon of progress in Nigeria’s digital landscape. Its potential to bridge the digital divide and empower millions is truly remarkable. I am confident that by the competition’s culmination, we will witness a significant shift in Nigeria’s digital landscape, with millions equipped with the skills and confidence to navigate the ever-evolving digital world.”

The program’s first edition sponsored by Microsoft took place in 2022, with the winner of the intermediate category, Theresa Sunday from Lagos, winning 2.5 million naira, while Nelson Didam from Kaduna State, emerged as the winner in the basic category taking home 1 million naira.

Tech4Dev, a global non-profit social enterprise, has directly equipped 120,298 Africans with digital and life skills for jobs and entrepreneurship across 22 African countries and currently also runs Africa’s largest free women-only digital skilling program, Women Techsters Initiative.