Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson
| credits: File
| credits: File
The
Rockefeller Foundation plans to create 20,000 jobs in Nigeria through
empowering youths with focused training in Information and
Communications Technology.
The Managing Director, African Regional
Office, Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Mamadou Biteye, unveiled the plan at
a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs.
Omobola Johnson, in Abuja on Thursday as part of the ongoing World
Economic Forum for Africa.
The 20,000 jobs are part of the Digital
Jobs Africa initiative, which the Foundation inaugurated at the World
Economic Forum for Africa in Cape Town, South Africa in 2013 to seize
the tremendous opportunity presented by the youth bulge in Africa and
the phenomenal rise of the ICT sector to bring about sustainable impact
through job creation.
The initiative aims to impact one million
lives in six African countries namely: Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa,
Kenya, Morocco and Egypt, by catalysing sustainable ICT-enabled
employment opportunities and skills training for high potential but
disadvantaged African youths.
Biteye said to achieve this goal, the
Foundation had been working for the past year, in close partnership with
other stakeholders in the six countries, to leverage significant funds
and align complementary programmes.
He said, “We have seen significant
progress since we launched in South Africa, some of which we are very
proud to share. In Ghana, we launched a partnership with the World Bank
Group to support the refurbishment of existing infrastructure to create a
new mini ICT park in central Accra. When completed, this park will
provide employment for 10,000 people.
“We are thrilled to now be in Nigeria,
Africa’s largest economy. Nigeria offers significant potential for
impact through the size of the economy and population base. Over the
years, the country has seen steady economic growth, particularly in its
services sector, and Nigeria’s ICT sector is the largest in Africa with
billions in investments, double digit revenue growth in the telecoms
industry and the highest numbers of Internet users on the continent.”
According to him, the growth must
translate into creation of employment opportunities for Nigeria’s
vibrant and innovative youths.
Biteye added, “We have had the privilege
of enjoying great support from the Minister of Communication Technology,
Ms. Johnson, with whom we share this vision of the transformative
potential of ICT to create jobs and build skills for Nigerian youths.
“We live in a digital age, and the
Internet provides us with unprecedented opportunities that we are
compelled to exploit. One such opportunity is that created by online
work.
“The Internet has created a platform
through which businesses or individuals that are seeking expertise can
connect with and employ individuals who are seeking employment. This
industry is estimated to grow to become a $5bn global industry by 2018.”
Meanwhile, Johnson has said Africa needs
to be focused on inclusive innovation to be able to harness the
potential on the continent, especially among the youth.
The minister said this at a ceremony
hosted by African Innovation Foundation, where Dr. Nicolaas Duneas and
Nuno Peres from South Africa, were named winners of the Innovation Prize
for Africa 2014.
Johnson, who was
represented at the ceremony by the Director-General, National Space
Research and Development Agency, Prof. Seidu Mohammed, said for
innovation to meet the Africa’s need, there must be increased access to
ICT and venture capital.
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