Skill2Rural.Org, an education platform by the Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI) to provide life and contemporary skills training to one million African youth in underserved and displaced communities by 2030 has been launched.
Hammed Alabi, the founder and chief executive officer at KLCI speaking at the launch said the leadership and career initiative has been nurturing the idea of the platform since 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when in-person programmes were halted.
“During that period, we created an online audio resource to ensure young people continued accessing relevant information and developing key life skills.
“We reached over 1,200 young people and realised the potential to reach even more by leveraging technology,” Alabi said.
Besides, Alabi explained that KLCI’s in-person boot camps also faced challenges, with facilitators struggling to reach the communities they serve.
“This led to the creation of pre-recorded sessions, funded by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme Enterprise Competition,” he added.
According to the leadership and career coach, these sessions have reached thousands of young people across 10 states in Nigeria. “Recognising the broader potential, KLCI launched the Skill2Rural.org platform with funding from the Western Union Foundation Fellowship, powered by the Watson Institute.
“Educators can register on the platform to use the resources in teaching key life and 21st-century skills in an in-person classroom setting,” he said.
The platform he said also allows young people to register directly, accessing modules and quizzes at their convenience.
“In just 24 hours of our soft launch, we already have about 50 users, and we aim to grow through partnerships,” he noted.
Furthermore, Alabi disclosed that the initiative has partners in Accra, Ghana, who are ready to use the organisation’s resources to support young people in underserved communities.
“KLCI’s goal through Skill2Rural is to reach at least one million young people across Africa by 2030. The initiative will continue running in-person boot camps to complement the edtech platform, fostering co-creation of innovative solutions, mentorship, and connecting the young people we serve to opportunities.
“We will keep learning from the young people we are designing for and hope this platform empowers them to pursue their dreams,” he said.
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