DEAS project, our inroad to digital economy – beneficiaries

By Stanley Onyekwere

Some beneficiaries of the World Bank-supported Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) in have described the project as their inroad to digital economy.
The beneficiaries stated this yesterday, at the graduation ceremony of digital trainees, inauguration of internship programme and unveiling of Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd in Suleja
It was gathered that the beneficiaries were among the 460 youths trained on digital marketing, data analytics and cyber security by Ubelle Neo Cloud Technologies Consortium under the IDEAS project.
One of them, Khadijat Abubakar, a data analytics trainee, described the digital training as one of the best she had ever attended and thanked the organisers for the opportunity.
Abubakar said the training had equipped her with the necessary skills to tap from the huge opportunities that the digital economy provides.
She said: “I now know how to clean, filter, sort and verify data among other data analytics skills.
“I am looking forward to a very bright future with my digital skills and hoping to become one of the best data analysts in the country by God’s grace.”
Another data analytics trainee, Lateefat Abdulrazak, said she had always wanted to become a data analyst but did not have the opportunity until now.
The trainee said: “Although I am a graphic designer, I am a novice in data analysis.
“The IDEAS programme has provided me with the needed opportunity to achieve my long-time ambition of becoming a data analyst.
“I will now use my new acquired skills to solve real life programmes in the digital economy space. I am very grateful to the World Bank, Ubelle Nig. Ltd and New Cloud for the opportunity.”
Similarly, another beneficiary, Olarin Shadrack, noted that the training has equipped him with a digital marketing skill to be able to explore opportunities in the nation’s digital economy.
“I learned a lot about digital marketing and now in the comfort of my home and my little space, I can market my products and other people’s products in the digital space using digital devices.
“I am into agro-farming and other businesses. With my digital marketing experience, I can easily advertise myself online and showcase my talent and make money”, he said.
Earlier, the Project Leader of Ubelle Neo Cloud Technologies Consortium, Dr. Ali Onoja explained that the 460 beneficiaries were selected from the more than 900 applicants.
Onoja said the beneficiaries went through rigorous digital skills development from December 2023 and were equipped with the tools and knowledge necessary to thrive in the digital age.
He explained that the Ubelle Nig. Ltd and Neo Cloud Technologies Consortium were among the 14 private sector organisations selected as grantees of the Innovation Grant Funding (IGF) under the IDEAS project.
According to him, the aim was to equip eligible youths, especially women, the disabled, and the vulnerable, with digital skills and certification.
He added that the digital marketing and digital entrepreneurship skills would enhance the capacity of the Nigerian skills development system to produce relevant skills for the formal and informal sectors.