FG, Tech4Dev Collaborate on Youth Empowerment

Emma Okonji

Given the growing rate of unemployment in Nigeria in the past couple of years, Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev), a non-profit organisation has partnered the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to up skill 36,000 youths in one year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the Nigerian economy suffered another coronavirus-induced setback, as unemployment rate jumped from 27.1 per cent in Q2 of 2020 to 33.3 per cent in Q4 of 2020.

Correspondingly, the number of unemployed persons rose by 6.4 per cent to 23.2 million as at Q4 of 2020 from 21.8 million as at Q2 of 2020.

The current unemployment rate is the highest ever, with unemployment scourge being magnified by COVID-19 crisis.

According to Statista.com, the unemployment rate in Nigeria is estimated to reach 32.5 per cent by the end of 2021.
This figure is projected to increase further in 2022.

To address the growing unemployment rate, Tech4Dev said it would upskill 36,000 young Nigerians in digital and technology skills over the next one year through the Emerging Markets Model Initiative (EMMI) powered by Microsoft Philanthropies.

EMMI is a multi-year private-public-nonprofit partnership necessary to build the capacity of the key government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to offer sustainable, scalable reskilling and employment services aligned to the local labor markets.

The initiative focuses on providing access to digital skills training to young persons living in underserved communities in Nigeria. The initiative will also work with government agencies to provide access to livelihood opportunities through job placement, entrepreneurship, and freelancing.

It has a strong inclusive strategy to ensure women and ethnic groups are included in the digital economy.

Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony held in the Minister’s Office in Abuja recently, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, expressed delight over the partnership, while stating the importance of the partnership towards the administration’s youth empowerment objectives.

“This is a welcome idea as it aligns with this administration’s youth empowerment objectives and in particular, it aligns with the ministry’s Digital Skill Acquisition, Employability, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership initiative (DEEL), which is aimed at giving the Nigerian Youth an added advantage and a competitive edge in the global workforce,” Dare said.

The Executive Director of Tech4Dev, Diwura Oladepo, said: “As an organisation, we are committed to creating access to decent work opportunities and platforms to help provide economic prosperity pathways for financial freedom and economic empowerment for youths across Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”

Oladepo added, “We are a proud proponent of the immense power of digital skills training as a tool to achieve this and improve livelihood. We are honored to collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development on the EMMI project to provide digital skills and digital job opportunities to the Nigerian youths. This partnership brings us one step closer to reducing the unemployment rate in Nigeria.”