Experts encourage youths on effective, efficient use of technology
Mrs Sonia Fajusigbe, the Policy Advisor, Entrepreneurship Youth Employment and Healthcare, Consulate General of the Netherlands in Lagos, has encouraged youths to effectively and efficiently use technology to harness opportunities.
Fajusigbe made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the How to Win Tech Summit for Youths.
NAN reports that “How To Win Tech Summit” was organised by a Dutch-based Software development company- Zarttech, in Lagos.
Fajusigbe said that there were so many opportunities in the technology ecosystem for the youths to harness as entrepreneurs and innovators.
According to her, the climate in Nigeria is very interesting and with limited opportunities but one can make the best opportunity out of it
“ Data is gold, you have phones, install Britannica it is for student in high school and elementary schools basically for research, it will help you.
“If you do that, you will remain within the scope and I would like everyone to take this with them, self discipline is what separates winners and losers, when you are not disciplined, you are just among the crowd.
“It is when you are self disciplined, you have a goal in front of you and you focus on it’’, she said.
Fajusigbe said that youths should try as much as possible to ensure consistency in that area and that when consistency is mixed with discipline, one would achieve a whole lot.
She, however, highlighted some of the works carried out by Netherlands in youths empowerment and its multiple effects on those trained, mentored and empowered.
Fajusigbe said that there were some programmes currently running and many were centrally funded.
According to her, all programmes in Nigeria are centrally funded and none is funded locally; centrally funded means it is funded from the Hague which includes Orange Corners.
“Orange Corners is the biggest entrepreneurship signature programme that runs across 19 countries in the world and it is basically to train and equip and support startups in their initial phase of proof of concept”.
According to her, young people from ages 18 to 50, who are still reiterating ideas to solve local problems are supported.
“There are four sectors it focuses on in the Orange Corners incubation programme, which is implemented by Fate Foundation and they are agriculture, renewable energy, secular economy, and healthcare.
“Others include Challenge Fund for Youth Employment, which is biggest promising in terms of creating digital jobs and it is basically to support, to provide matching fund.
“The Orange Corners is in its 11th cohort and has trained about 200 entrepreneurs”.
Speaking earlier about the summit, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Zarttech, Mr Nelson Ajulo, said that Zarttech was basically focused on developing tech talents in the Nigerian ecosystem using their capacities
Ajulo said it was also creating opportunities for global jobs for young people in the ecosystem.
He said that the event was aimed at empowering young people by exploring opportunities within the tech industry, helping them develop the skills needed to become self-reliant or embark on rewarding careers in this rapidly evolving sector.
According to him, the summit is part of Zarttech’s ongoing commitment to driving social impact and fostering innovation among Nigerian youth and with the purpose to catch them young.
Ajulo said that the programme, in its fifth year, is to create awareness on the future of labour force in Nigeria and globally
“And part of the biggest problem that I have seen within the Nigerian economy, also for my PhD research, is that these children, the average Nigerians, do not even know what they need to study.
“Or even what the economy or what the employer wants, or what the job market needs in the labor market, so they go to school to study without even knowing the end result.
“Which would be that they are able to obtain a certificate that actually says that they are an amazing employee to be hired”.
According to him, when they go and invest the time, invest the resources of their parent on an unintentional intent, and learn something that is not of great value, they may become redundant, and it is like wasted time and wasted resources.
The CEO said that it was crucial for children and youths to have understanding of this , and that the Summit was to create this awareness.
