Kano is a gorgeous place, you have heard all the stories – the splendour of the Tiga Dam; the colours of the Dying Pits; the beauty of the Falgore Game Reserve or the bustle of the Kurmi market. Yes, we have heard all the gist, yet none of the beauties listed above is a part of the top things we are looking forward to in Kano? Now you’re wondering, what on earth are we waiting for then?
Okay, let’s give you the gist. Earlier this year, we headed for the ancient city of Ibadan in Oyo State for the pilot phase of MTN Foundation’s ICT and Business Skills Training and haven’t stopped thinking about it. Imagine our excitement when we heard that the training will take place in Kano this November. Eeeeeeeeehn!
Now that the day is here, let’s tell you the five reasons we loved the training in Ibadan earlier this year and why we are excited for Kano!
- Strictly Experts: For two (2) days in June 2018, experts from the MTN Foundations and its ecosystem partners – KPMG; IBM; DBI (Digital Bridge Institute) and Oracle came together to train five hundred (500) youths on the necessary skills in ICT and Business. There was so much to learn and Ibadan was surely better for it. We learned how to use the right social media skills to increase customers for business and financial accounting.
- The Tasks Were Fun: So, at the end of each day, the hall filled with hundreds of students were divided into tables and each recipient was able to sit and think through engaging tests. Each team picked a leader to present their answers and at the end of the entire session, shouts of victory rung in the air when a group was crowned the winner. You needed to have seen the competitive drive in the air. That’s one of the things we are excited to see in Kano – people coming together to learn and enjoy every minute of it.
3. It was Free: Yes, participants did not pay a single dime for attending the event. That was very interesting! Each day had a roughly nine-hour-long intensive session and yet there was not a fee to any of the activities. It was all paid for by MTN Foundation.
- Our Selfie game was on fleek! Yes, “all work and no play” was not our problem at all. The recipients with the most liked selfie on twitter got a surprise gift! See, using social media to win – we learned fast. Two lucky recipients happily received gifts from the MTN Foundation team.
- We had a Mega Freebie! Okay, you have to keep this a secret – after the whole thing wrapped up, each day the recipients were handed envelopes to help with transportation back home. All recipients! We opened our mouths in shock when we found out.
First, we got free training that would last our lives then we got to enjoy a trip back home, all expenses on MTN! We tried to beg the team not to leave, but ehn…like Santa Claus, they had to go improve other lives.
You understand the sheer excitement we have for Kano, the possibilities that the young people of the state now have. By the end of the training, the employability level in Kano would have increased by five hundred. If that isn’t a reason to shout ‘whoop!” we really cannot help you…