YABATECH Seeks Ford Foundation’s Backing for Girl-child Innovation, Enterprise Hubs

Funmi Ogundare

The management of Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) has called on the Ford Foundation to support its plan to establish girl-child enterprise and innovation hubs, a project aimed at equipping young Nigerian women with practical, technical, and entrepreneurial skills for self-employment.

The Rector, Dr. Ibraheem Abdul, made the appeal during a meeting with Ford Foundation executives, led by the Regional Director for West Africa, Dr. Catherine Aniagolu, at the foundation’s office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Abdul explained that the proposed hubs would help bridge the gender gap in technical education by ensuring that young women go beyond theory to actual practice in entrepreneurship and innovation.

“We want them to start and build the practice of entrepreneurship as we create hubs for them in the college, with our available massive space that needs your kind support,” he stated.

He added that the initiative would prepare the girl-child to become future-ready, field-ready, and focused after acquiring both theoretical and practical knowledge.

In her response, Dr. Aniagolu commended YABATECH’s contributions to technical and vocational education, particularly in empowering young women through skills acquisition and promoting the arts as a profession.

She urged Nigerian institutions to strengthen their global relevance, noting that specialised institutions like YABATECH stand a better chance of attracting international recognition, research support, and partnerships.