Governor of Anambra State, Professor Chukwuma Soludo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft and the Wootlab Foundation to train 20,000 Anambra youths in digital skills.
The MOU was signed at the Professor Dora Akunyili Women’s Development Center in Awka, the state capital.
The Anambra State Government’s Solution Innovation District, SID, was also officially launched.
SID was established to build, activate, and scale innovation in Anambra State, including technology startups, digital skills training, co-working space creation, business incubation, raising the Anambra digital tribe, and innovation support, among others.
The initiative aims to train 10,000 youths in relevant ICT skills each year.
Speaking on “Anambra Digital Tribe: Activating A New Economy through the Solution Agenda,” Governor Soludo emphasized that knowledge and skills are enduring forms of power.
He stated that the power of knowledge and skills transcends space and time and is unbounded because it follows an individual wherever he or she goes.
“There is a global demand for knowledge and skills. The world doesn’t care about the certificate you have. They are more concerned with your mental ability and manual dexterity. This is a watershed moment.” Governor, Soludo said at the event.
Also speaking, Mr. Patrick Mba, the State Commissioner for Youth, recalled that the Governor launched the “One Youth, Two Skills” initiative in October and noted that the world was rapidly going digital and expressed relief that Anambra was not left behind.
The Commissioner encouraged residents of the state to take advantage of the opportunity, stating that the goal was to redefine youth development beyond immediate consumption, with job creation as the end goal.
Olatomiwa Williams, Microsoft’s Country Managerfor Nigeria and Ghana, and Chioma Okoro, Chief Executive Officer of Wootlab Foundation, both described the initiative as a step in the right direction, asserting that the fourth industrial revolution has already begun.
