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Rockefeller Foundation plans 20,000 jobs for Nigeria

By BusinessNews Staff on May 10, 2014

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.

[Punch]

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