Better Livelihood Through Community & Womens Empowerment - Ajegunle.org
Ajegunle.org is the first of our community-empowerment models that create better livelihoods – through ICT and entrepreneurship training, short-term internships and a Graduate Loan Scheme – for young people in underserved areas. Considering the huge socio-economic deficit in targeted locations, the project addresses employment issues while also helping youth to shun crime.
About You
Section 1: About You
Section 2: About Your Organization
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Organization Name
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (Ajengunle.org)
Organization Website
Organization Phone
Organization Address
Organization Country
Nigeria
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has this organization been operating?
1‐5 years
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Your idea
Name Your Project
Better Livelihood Through Community & Womens Empowerment - Ajegunle.org
Describe Your Idea
Ajegunle.org is the first of our community-empowerment models that create better livelihoods – through ICT and entrepreneurship training, short-term internships and a Graduate Loan Scheme – for young people in underserved areas. Considering the huge socio-economic deficit in targeted locations, the project addresses employment issues while also helping youth to shun crime.
Country your work focuses on
Nigeria
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
The Ajegunle.org idea’s income-generation and sustainability strategy involves the use of volunteers; 10% return on profit from paid internships and developed businesses; and return on investment from the community telecentre. The project entry format employs a free entry/deferred payment model and the decision to work with our target audiences is an attestation to the innovative income-generation model we have adopted. Our use of a relay training scheme, social enterprise delivery and adoption of a positive peer pressure platform in our training also describe our idea of doing business differently. While there are other organizations that deliver entrepreneurship training and ICT training, we are focused on a mostly-ignored market segment and use ICTs as a platform for opportunities. We have now been able to establish an early partnership with a diplomatic institution that is leading a number of UK companies to take on our trainees as interns. Our training program utilizes local cyber-cafes in the local communities where we take the training programs to: We used a cyber-café that was almost running out of business in the Ajegunle pilot training.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Tell us about the social impact of your innovation. Please include both numbers and stories as evidence of this impact
From the 154 youths that applied for project participation, 75 youths resident in Ajegunle were selected to participate in the Ajegunle.org project. 13 of them participated in the internship scheme at Afrinvest West Africa, DHL, London Metropolitan University (Nigeria Office), Lornamead Africa, Standard Chartered Bank, UK Trade & Investment and UK High Commission Abuja. The project also hosted its second consecutive Korea Internet Volunteers (KIVs) in July 2008. Program graduates from last year have now trained 195 youths from their community as part of the positive peer pressure strategy while 4 have been offered employment by UK High Commission, MMA2 and Lornamead Africa. The trainees also remitted over N50,000 (representing 10% of their generated income) to the project towards its sustainability. Emmanuel, one of the first set of graduates, returned to the project as a much-loved volunteer trainer! There are now many communities requesting for the replication of the model and we are in talks with the Igede community of Benue state (Northern Nigeria) and have also commenced a train-the-trainer process for all 6 states in the South-West of Nigeria.
Problem: Describe the primary problem(s) that your innovation is addressing
The primary problems of the project include a cost-effective training facility, meeting the demands in terms of internship opportunities and supporting graduates after they complete the training program.
Actions: Describe the steps that you are taking to make your innovation a success. What might prevent that success?
We have maintained the use of rented facilities (e.g. local cybercafés) but are now raising funds for the establishment of a more permanent facility that can lower long-term costs. We are also reaching out to more organizations regarding the internship openings by demonstrating the impact on previous interns. Our support for training alumni has now taken off with the introduction of the Graduate Loan Scheme.
Results: Describe the expected results of these actions over the next three years. Please address each year separately, if possible
Year 1:
The establishment of a more permanent training space where students can have access to training and post-training meetings with mentors. Within the same year, we also hope to increase the percentage of students who benefit from internships to 30%
Success in Year 2:
Establishment of the Ajegunle Innovation Centre (AJIC), a location that can train more students and will also serve as an incubator for project graduates. We hope to increase access to the Graduate Loan Scheme to a minimum of 30% of the students while internship opportunities should be available for 50%.
Success in Year 3:
To increase access to Graduate Loan Scheme to 50%, internship to 75% and extend model to at least 5 communities across Nigeria.
Additionally we hope to accomplish the following: 1)Establish a permanent training centre; 2)Increase the number of partners who host interns; 3) Improve the Graduate Loan Scheme.
If we are successful, these actions will result in huge (long-term) cost-saving in terms of training space rent, improve the quality of training by ensuring that more students have access to internships, and help the project advance closer to its overall objective by equipping graduates with loans that can help their small businesses grow.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Less than $50
Does your innovation seek to have an impact on public policy?
If your innovation seeks to impact public policy, how?
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Operating for 1‐5 years
Does your organization have a board of directors or an advisory board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non monetary partnerships with government?
Please tell us more about how partnerships could be critical to the success of your innovation
We have NGO partners that work with us in the recruitment of the right candidates for the training, and we support them in return by providing ICT support. Our business partners host interns who have gone through our training program. Government partners also nominate under-represented youth groups and also receive input from the project to inform possible social interventions for local communities.
We would like to learn more about how your initiative is financially supported. Please explain your business plan/revenue model
Approximately 250 words left (2000 characters).
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
Following an invitation to train a group of young people in Ajegunle in 2004, I initiated a baseline study from May to July 2007, in which questionnaires from 242 respondents (chosen due to its notorious nature as Nigeria's most popular slum) were evaluated. The average age of respondents was 15 with a gender ratio of 1:1. With a spread of occupations between 23 artisans, 24 undergraduates, 41 primary school students, 79 high school students, 39 non-specific students, 23 students in transition between high school and university and 10 with no stated occupation; I noticed a 9% PC ownership rate, 44% computer literacy level, 100% with ICT learning challenges, 94% acknowledgement of ICT application importance and 87% with high expectations for ICT/Entrepreneurship training opportunities. With the extremely high unemployment rate, low entry barrier for the initiative and the opportunity to demonstrate the possibility of the model through Ajegunle, the idea was too exciting to be left unattended. Having been deprived access to computer training myself while I was growing up in Akure (a rural city about 350km from Lagos), it was easy for me to identify with these youth – and to see the need to use the skills I had acquired to help them. That was a defining moment for me, and after a few years of the encounter, I resigned from paid employment to pursue this laudable life mission!
Tell us about the person—the social innovator—behind this idea.
‘Gbenga Sesan, an Ashoka Fellow, is the Executive Director of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria and he serves on the board of a number of non-profit organizations. Originally trained as an Electronic & Electrical Engineer at Obafemi Awolowo University, ‘Gbenga has completed Executive Education Management Training Programs at Lagos Business School, New York Group for Technology Transfer, Oxford University, Harvard University and Stanford University. His consulting experience includes assignments completed for numerous institutions, including Microsoft, Harvard University, UN Economic Commission for Africa and the International Telecommunications Union. ‘Gbenga has consulted and made presentations in numerous countries. He is a member of the United Nations Committee of eLeaders on Youth and ICT and Archbishop Tutu Leadership Fellow; and he was Nigeria's first Information Technology Youth Ambassador. He was the Vice Chair of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s African Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) the youngest member of the Nigerian Presidential Task Force on the Restructuring of the Nigerian Information Technology and Telecommunications Sectors. In recognition of his dynamic efforts, 'Gbenga has been honoured with numerous awards including the Nigerian Youth Leadership award, Youth Advocacy award, Best Use of Technology award and the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in Nigeria award, among others. ‘Gbenga Sesan has been profiled as one of the 35 Icons of ICT in Nigeria and he keeps a personal website at www.gbengasesan.com. He is married to Temilade, a PhD scholar with research interests in Renewable Energy Policy and Implementation for developing economies (especially Nigeria and Kenya).
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Web Search (e.g., Google or Yahoo)
If through another source, please provide the information
ICRW
Does your project address any of the following barriers to women’s technology access and use?
Economic or institutional constraints.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how.
Ajegunle.org seeks to create better livelihoods – through ICT opportunities, entrepreneurship training, short-term internships Graduate Loan Scheme – for equal number of young women and men in Nigeria’s underserved areas. Ego, like many other young ladies in Nigeria's most popular slum, was not sure of what tomorrow held for her. Now, she works at the Visa Section of the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, thanks to her participation in the Ajegunle.org project. Funke, another female project participant, grew her business of N2,000 by over 2,000% after the training. We are working towards the replication of the idea beyond Ajegunle, and are also keen on establishing the first Innovation Centre.
The innovation centre will serve as a knowledge hub where more youth from the community can be empowered for the world of work. It will serve the purposes of training (providing a space for the Ajegunle.org training program and a centre for the advancement of workplace preparedness for Ajegunle's youth), incubation (providing workspaces for the entrepreneurs that we train so that they can overcome the infrastructure barrier and have a place where they can walk into and work to provide their services towards income generation and wealth creation) and service provision (providing a place where community members can get relevant ICT-based services, as provided by our graduates who will benefit from immediate employment opportunities while they in turn provide the centre with low-cost manpower).
Does your project involve women in one or more of the following stages of the technology lifecycle? Identification of the problem the technology will solve:
Technology introduction, Technology training, Technology supply and distribution, Creation and maintenance of market linkages for women's economic outputs, Assessment and evaluation.
If you checked any of the boxes above, please explain how you will ensure women’s involvement in each relevant phase of the technology lifecycle.
Esther joined the program in March 2008, after completing secondary school education in July 2007. The rather shy young woman had no knowledge about computers before that time but she has now become extremely comfortable – and productive – with computers, based on the lessons she picked up during the Ajegunle.org training. After her own training, Esther extended the knowledge she acquired to 6 other people – two of whom were her siblings – as part of the relay training scheme of the program. She completed 4 months of internship with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) at the UK Deputy High Commission, Lagos, before clinching a full-time job at the privately-run Terminal 2 of the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos. Hers is another example of the huge impact that the program has had on participants, most of whom are now a pride to their family and community. Esther’s next plan is to study for a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science – a dream she says was helped along by her experience during the Ajegunle.org training exercise.
Once she heard about the training program through her youth group, Uncommon Man Network, Linda knew she had to benefit from the Ajegunle.org experience. She said of her computing knowledge before the training: "I knew computers had monitors and keyboards but that was all I knew." Now, she is comfortable with sending monthly reports of her pastry business which has earned her the nickname, Chin-chin Lady. Beyond picking up computing skills and learning about how to start and grow her small business, Linda believes her communication skills have significantly improved and that she also learnt a lot about life while on the program. "I learnt that there is no excuse in life, and that I must always reach out for more." Of her internship experience, she says, "...it is an experience I wouldn't have missed for anything, though it was quite stressful for me at the beginning because I had never worked in a corporate environment before."
If women are a focus of your project, how did this focus evolve?
The project focused on women from its conception..
Which type of women will your project reach directly?
Low income.
In what ways does your project team/leadership involve women?
The core project team includes women from developing countries..
Has your organization formed any new partnerships in response to this challenge? If so, with what type/s of organization/s?
Non-profit/NGO/community-based organization, For-profit, Government, Women's organization, Other.
Has your project leadership had prior experience with the following?
Working with women, Working with technologies, Working to increase women's economic empowerment through technology, Working on innovation.
 | 110 weeks ago‘Gbenga Sesan updated this Competition Entry. |
| 111 weeks ago‘Gbenga Sesan submitted this idea. |
