Paradigm Initiative has equipped 52 students in Senegal with information technology (I.T.) and entrepreneurship skills through its LIFE programme.
LIFE, which stands for Life skills, ICTs, Financial literacy, and Entrepreneurship, was designed to transform the lives of underserved youth in Africa, through interventions in underserved communities.
Number nine of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) calls for the building of a resilient infrastructure, promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and fostering of innovation.
Similarly, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 encourages efforts aimed at equipping citizens with technological skills for economic growth.
According to Paradigm Initiative, the 52 students, including 33 girls, were trained in digital marketing, digital security, Microsoft and Google productivity tools, internet efficiency, graphics and life skills.
‘After eight weeks of intense training in I.T. and entrepreneurship, 19 students acquired skills in Microsoft and Google productivity tools, internet efficiency, digital security, digital marketing, concept graphics and life skills’, Paradigm Initiative said via Facebook.
‘Initiated as part of the LIFE programme, we organised a workshop for girls. The event was aimed at empowering girls and the importance of girl’s involvement in the digital space. Over the three days, 33 girls were trained in digital marketing and digital security’.
According to GSMA Intelligence, there is an enormous shortage in digital skills in Senegal, and graduates, sometimes, do not even have essential digital skills, including critical thinking and problem-solving.
A report by the World Bank also noted that it was imperative that the Senegalese government integrates digital technology in all levels of its education system in order to breach the digital skills gap in the country.
The Senegalese government has also set out an ambitious plan in its Digital Senegal 2025 strategy to make the digital sector one of the drivers of the country’s structural reforms.
Source: Paradigm Initiative
Photo source: Paradigm Initiative
