Kano State Information Technology Development Agency (KASITDA) has announced a strategic partnership with KALM Community Initiative (KCI), a non-governmental organisation, to empower 1.5 million youths with digital literacy and skills.
The initiative is targeted at reducing unemployment and boosting economic productivity through digital transformation in the state.
The director-general of KASITDA, Bashir-Abdu Muzakkari, disclosed this while speaking to journalists at the sidelines of the Youth Impact Forum organised by KCI in Zaria. He explained that the new collaboration is part of the broader Kano State Digital Economic Policy and Digital Transformation Agenda, which is scheduled to run between 2025 and 2027.
“These cohorts would become digitally literate at the basic, intermediate and expert levels,” Muzakkari said. He noted that out of the 1.5 million youths expected to benefit from the programme, 150,000 had already been engaged as a pilot scheme.
The director-general further highlighted that 1,150 youths recently graduated from the Kano State Entrepreneurship Institute and the Kano State Institute for Information Technology in Kura. He explained that the success recorded so far has encouraged the state government to replicate the KCI interface programme in tertiary institutions across Kano.
Muzakkari also revealed that KASITDA will replicate the youth impact forum by working with KCI to extend the initiative to grassroots communities.
He added that KASITDA is already driving innovative solutions through a Hackathon programme, known as HEAT, which stands for Health, Education, Agriculture, and Transportation.
“The hackathon was initiated in preparation for a transition from traditional government to e-government. Once youths offer solutions in these key sectors of HEAT, the government will fund them. If it is a start-up, KASITDA would fund and accelerate it into a full-blown company. So far, we have received over 200 applications,” he stated.
On her part, Aisha Muhammad, founder of KALM Community Initiative, said the organisation was established on the belief that while challenges exist everywhere, opportunities are not evenly distributed.
She stressed that KCI’s mission is to provide young people with the chance to embrace technology by offering practical support to those willing to learn, innovate and build a brighter future.
“At KCI we have seen the untapped potentials in the minds of the young potentials with dreams but no spark to ignite them; today we are here to provide those sparks,” Muhammad said.
She explained that the Youth Impact Forum allows students to interact with content creators, digital trailblazers, blockchain experts, and developers, creating a platform to harness digital economic ideas.
According to her, the collaboration with state actors and stakeholders will also expand the initiative beyond Kano, helping reduce unemployment among Nigerian youths.