Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev) has concluded its training of the basic digital literacy for rural clusters in Northern Nigeria in March.
The company said the program benefitted a total of 1,338 persons who came from across 10 states including Zamfara; Kaduna; Kwara; Kogi; Kogi; Sokoto; Jigawa; Nasarawa; Niger; and Plateau states. Over 600 of the beneficiaries were girls and women and over 400 were persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Tech4Dev is a non-profit organisation established to empower African communities with digital skills that will bridge the gap of unskilled labor needed for the future of work. The organisation has increased its digital literacy advocacy across the country since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic which it says has enabled the increased adoption of digital technology to enable the continuation of work, education, and communications.
However, the economic hardship brought about by the COVID-19 has widened the digital divide especially in poor rural clusters of Northern Nigeria. Tech4Dev, which is partnering with the UK government, says more emphasis needs to be on digital literacy in order to empower 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.
“The UK Government is committed to supporting the advancement of the use of technology in Nigeria through various programs it is implementing with partners,” Martha Bostock, head of Prosperity Fund Nigeria, a fund set up by the UK Government.
Tech4Dev also launched a Handbook and Factsheet as an offshoot of the Basic Digital Literacy for Rural Clusters a Stakeholders’ Forum. The bok highlights insights and learnings from the program which Tech4Dev says other organisations can also deploy as a framework for such initiatives in Nigeria.
“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 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,” Diwura Oladepo, Executive Director at Tech4Dev said.
