The Technology for Social Change and Development Initiative (Tech4Dev), in partnership with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has launched #DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0.
The project, which is Africa’s largest free digital skilling competition, is aimed at empowering two million Nigerians with basic and intermediate digital skills and offering participants the chance to win over N150 million in cash and prizes.
The founder and President of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, said the project is structured to promote the learning and proliferation of digital skills in Nigeria through an incentivized structure with participants from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, catering to three distinct categories: young learners (ages 8-15), youth (16-45), and civil servants nationwide.
“The #DigitalForAllChallenge 2.0 spans 12 months and is divided into three phases. The first phase is a 6-month learning phase that focuses on knowledge acquisition, followed by a 2-month competition phase with emphasis on practical application and mastery of the acquired skills – this competition phase happens at state, regional and national levels,
The final stage is the national grand finale that brings together all regional champions across the three target categories; Young Learners, Youth and Civil Servants for the selection of the winners.”
“Winners in the Young Learners’ category stand a chance to win cash scholarships, with the national winner receiving N10 million; the first runner-up will receive N7.5m and the second runner-up will receive N5m.
“The teacher of the National Winner receives N5 million while an ICT lab would be opened in the National Winner’s school in collaboration with NITDA.”
“In the Civil Service category, the national winner secures a N10m while for the Youth Category, under the basic level, the national winner secures a N10m.”
The Director General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, said the country has been investing in advancing digital skills for Nigerians, noting that impact can be created when value is made.
The Deputy High Commissioner, FCDO, Mrs Gill Lever, added that the programme has the potential to bridge the digital divide and empower millions of citizens.
