From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Chief Executive Officer and Founder of FOUND Africa Technology, Mr. Olajide Aboderin, has expressed the desire of his company to make Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the next Silicon Valley of Africa by giving digital skills to the youth.
He made the disclosure during an interview with journalists in Ibadan after the launch of the ‘Workspace Happy Hour’ series by his company, which is a Google partner.
The programme had in attendance Senior Special Assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Information Communication Technology (ICT), Moshope Adebayo Akande. Aboderin said FOUND was in talks with the Oyo State Government for a partnership to train 20,000 youth in the state to acquire digital skills over the next 24 months. According to him, the training programme aims to equip small and medium business owners, as well as individuals, with essential tools to enhance productivity and improve business processes.
“Youth is not just about young people. They are people between 18 years and 45 years. We want to train as many as possible over the next few months. This shall be a partnership that we will sign with the government and Google. Our dream is to make Oyo State and Ibadan in particular, the next Silicon Valley of Africa.
“Today, we are here in partnership with Café One and Sterling Bank. We have the full support of Google. Google is ready to provide training resources. This is what we are going to the marketplace with. We are not only going to partner with Google alone, we shall also partner with Microsoft and Amazon of this world with a view to bringing technology to local communities in Nigeria and Africa at large.