To combat the unemployment and poverty that Africa’s growing youth population is likely to face, Google has launched a free program teaching digital skills in Africa. This program is led by Bunmi Banjo, a Nigerian-Canadian woman who is Google’s Brand and Reputation Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. Under Banjo’s leadership, the Digital Skills for Africa program has already trained one million Africans, and aims to train another million by the end of 2017. Banjo hopes that those who undergo training will use their newly learned skills to innovate and succeed, saying “Young people [in Africa] are ingenious and all they need is a little support to connect to the tools they need to improve their future.”
Some of us at AFJN attended an event titled “Transforming the Education Sector to Meet Africa’s 21st Century Needs,” which you can read more about here. At this event, three speakers gave their opinions on what is necessary to best educate Africa’s youth. Paul Mugambi, Chief Executive Officer of Kytabu, emphasized the importance of African youth keeping up with technological developments to prepare for the jobs of the future. The Digital Skills for Africa program is a positive step towards helping African youth succeed in a digital world.
Click here to learn more about the Digital Skills for Africa program.
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