By Jimoh Sulyman
An Ilorin based Tech company, Digprom International has birthed an initiative, a kid-training IT Clinic, aimed at introducing African children to the world of technology as the trend of the future.
The Program, KidsTech Africa, was a move targeted at repositioning Africa and Nigeria and more so, introduce the coming generation to the realities of the world’s tech drive.
As technology in whichever form it may appear is taking the world by storm and as it seem the world is leaving Africa and Nigeria behind in the race to make the world easier than it was a day before.
An urgent need arise for the country to put itself back on the race track of technological advancements.
The Team lead, Digprom International, Mr Ishola Kayode, while speaking to *National Pilot* narrated the significance of the program, in his own words, “KidsTech Africa is a hands-on coding and innovative program that helps kids learn and explore the world of technology in a bid to become innovators and builders.
“It started in 2019 after the parent company Digprom International identified the need for Africans to invest in her future in the area of technology. We realized that most of the jobs of the future are dependent on technology. In other to remain competitive and relevant, we need to prepare the young ones for the future by plugging them into the digital and tech grid”.
Ishola while discussing the company’s journey and its challenges ,in his remark, he said “It’s been great but not without some challenges. We started the KidsTech for schools in January 2020, where we worked with 4 schools ( 2 private and 2 public schools).
“We were able to see the effect and identify some challenges that are peculiar to our operations in each of the schools. This helped us reshape our model and led to the introduction of 2 other packages (KidsTech for Individuals and KidsTech for Communities).
“One of the challenges we’re facing has been funding to scale up and make our services available to more kids across Nigeria and the continent of Africa .
“Another challenge is kids whose parents find it difficult to get computers that will be used for the training. Because our program is hands-on, kids must have access to a personal computer. this lead to some kids being denied that opportunity, which can be quite frustrating for us. For we want every child to be involved. Not leaving anyone behind”, Ishola disclosed.
He also expressed the company’s readiness to expand its reach to other parts of the country, he said, “We are currently in 2 states with plans to expand to two more before the end of 2021. The program has gained a lot of traction as parents, school owners, stakeholders in the academic and tech sector and others have seen the importance of this”.
He Added that ,in the meantime the company is “launching our robust online (virtual) LMS – learning management system so that we can cater to kids in States and countries we are yet to have a physical training center in.
“Right now, we are improving the quality of our delivery by introducing more learning aids in other to get more kids to efficiently learn to code and explore technology”, he noted
When quizzed on the aims and prospects of the initiative, Ishola, explained that, “There are a lot of prospects in this for us as a company. First, we know that what we offer is in high demand. Technology skills are in great demand. Kids get to grow with technology and the fact that it also influences development in their communities”.
The team lead however reiterated the company’s willingness to keep on working with more community development experts towards making sure that kids from remote and underserved communities get to be involved in the program.
Adding that this will aid the company’s goals of transforming communities using technology.
