OVL Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has reaffirmed its commitment to creating a better Nigeria by empowering its youths in digital and vocational skills through the unveiling of the 9ja Youth Drive 2025 project.
The unveiling of the 9ja Youth Drive 2025 project took place at the foundation building in Lekki, Lagos, last Thursday. OVL Foundation is partnering with Kratos Sustainability Consult Ltd, IHS Nigeria and Mountain Top Productivity Enhancement Foundation for this project.
Speaking about the 2025 project, Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, CEO, OVL Foundation and CEO Kratos Sustainability Consult Ltd, who expressed her gratitude to all partners, said that taking the digital and vocational skills route is to prepare young Nigerians for modern job opportunities by providing them with essential tools and technology to compete in the world market.
She explained that the project would solve some of Nigeria’s most prevalent problems, like unemployment, closing the digital skill gap in a digital era and the mismatch between skills and labour market demands amongst youths.
Unveiling the 2025 project, she said, “The 9ja Youth Drive, ignite, innovate, inspire, include aims to empower over six thousand (6,000) youths in 2025 as direct beneficiaries, by providing them with access to sustainable livelihood opportunities.
“The program is aimed at igniting the passion of Nigerian youths, helping them to innovate solutions to local and national challenges, which is why we have mentioned earlier about the Hackathon to inspire positive actions in communities and include youth in decisions making processes in matters related to education, economic growth and environmental Sustainability amongst the wide range of others.”
The digital and tech skills route, which is a virtual nationwide programme, allows people from across the country to participate in any of the cohorts.
She said, “What we are doing with the tech and digital skills is that we have different cohorts. However, we have a specific state cohort with partners that have tech hubs starting with Asaba. We will have direct beneficiaries, a minimum of 500 to 1000 youths per state, as beneficiaries in this programme across the six geopolitical zones. We are expecting to impact between 3000 and 9000 people a year.
“If we enhance digital literacy, we know that our people will be ready for now and the future. So digital and tech skills like coding, data analysis, analytics, and digital marketing will help to improve the employability and foster innovation.”
She announced that there will be a hackathon competition at Delta State on August 12, to mark the 2025 International Youth Day, and the winner will go home with N1 million.
Commenting on the vocational skills route, Omobolanle said the programme is hands-on training in various trades such as producing soap and hygiene products, make-up, Gele and fascinators, tie and dye, paint making, pastries, juices, etc.
Speaking in terms of the structure of the vocational skills training, she said there are hubs in different locations to do the training, and it’s something that people would have to be there physically to get trained.
Omobolanle, who emphasised that the ultimate reason for the training is to impact lives through self-employment and job creation, said that the trainees will move from training to employment.
Her words, “The trainees will not be allowed to go back to the street idle, once they are trained, they will be given materials to practice what they learn, eg a person who gets trained in soap making will be given soap materials to start a business with it.
Speaking of the visibility and sellability of their products, she said, “They will also be taught how to stand out through unique packaging and effectively market their products. We intend to enable them to start business immediately, though small, but scale up as they grow.”
Speaking about eligibility of beneficiaries, she said, “Our definition of youth considers our local operating environment, the people from the age range of 18-45 years are eligible beneficiaries for this program. We extended it to age 45 to allow us to train the women, especially in our rural and suburban areas.
“For the widows and single mums, we have specific programmes for them. We understand that what many of these people need is empowerment. This is also a tilt towards gender inclusion and ensuring the inclusion of persons with disabilities or stigmatised by society in the female gender.”
She said that the project, which has a five-year vision, will be hosted in 6 states, representing each geographical zone.
Revealing the states, the project is starting with, she said, “The six states we are starting this year include Northcentral: Nassarawa, Northeast: Adamawa, Northwest: Kaduna, Southeast: Anambra, South South: Delta and Southwest Ogun.
Speaking of plans to implement this initiative across the country, she said that they have a five-year plan to cover at least 30 states in the country, one state in each geopolitical zone a year.
Her words, “Because we want to make an impact. We won’t just go to a state we can’t make an impact, we will go to states we can impact and have partners with structures they can use to make an impact. Resources are limited, and we can’t waste them on fruitless executions. So, we will ensure the states are willing to learn and be impacted. Also, we need to consider the safety of our facilitators. But in five years, we believe that we can reach or cover up to 30 states across Nigeria.”
She said that the programme will impact about 9000+ beneficiaries with the community leaders, family members, business owners and community stakeholders.
Speaking earlier in his keynote speech, Dr. Victor Okhai, Advisory Board, OVL and immediate past president, Directors Guild of Nigeria, expressed his worries about the future of horology in Nigeria, as most young Nigerians have refused to learn vocational skills such as electric wiring, watch repairing, welding, etc.
He, however, advised young Nigerians to learn these noble skills as they are sought after in countries like Japan, the USA and Canada. He also says that exporting these skills can lead to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
On his part, Victor Laniyan, Chairman, OVL Foundation, said that 9ja Youth Drive is a significant investment that will solve the problems of now and the future of Nigeria.
9Ja Youth Drive is a transformative youth empowerment programme dedicated to capacitating. Nigerian youths with essential vocational and digital skills for the 21st century.
Since its inception, the 9Ja Youth Drive has equipped over 2,000 young Nigerians across Nigeria with practical skills, mentorship opportunities, and pathways to sustainable livelihoods.
