By Mustapha Salisu
Pioneers ICT Nigeria Limited has commenced a free digital marketing training programme aimed at equipping women with skills to promote their businesses, reach wider markets and improve their business capacity.
Speaking to newsmen today during the opening ceremony of the training in Kano, The Chief Executive Officer of Pioneers ICT Nigeria Limited, Hassan Umar Dankura, said the training was designed to bridge the digital knowledge gap among business owners and encourage women to use social media effectively to grow their enterprises.
Dankura explained that the programme caters to both women already engaged in business and those seeking to venture into entrepreneurship, with the aim of strengthening existing businesses and helping new entrepreneurs establish themselves.
He noted that women engaged in small-scale businesses, including cap making, chin-chin production and awara sales, could benefit from using social media more effectively to promote their products and reach potential customers.
According to him, the initiative was developed in response to gaps in inclusivity, particularly in the use of digital platforms for business promotion and expansion.
Dankura described the current training as a pilot programme involving 25 participants, stressing that its success would be measured by the impact on their businesses rather than the number of people trained.
He said the programme would be considered successful if participants could apply the knowledge acquired to expand their businesses and progress to higher levels of operation.
The CEO added that the current training is an intensive three-day programme, while participants with no prior business knowledge would have access to a separate three-week training session to be scheduled after the ongoing programme.
He emphasised that participation was free, with no conditions attached, adding that the initiative was part of the organisation’s effort to contribute to society by supporting inclusive development and helping more women become self-employed.
One of the participants, Saratu Aliyu, said the training had exposed her to gaps in her knowledge of digital marketing and mistakes she had previously made unknowingly while running her business.
Saratu expressed confidence that the skills acquired would help her expand her business, adding that she planned to encourage her colleagues to participate in subsequent cohorts of the programme.
She noted that another training session would be organised after the current cohort, providing more women with an opportunity to acquire digital skills for business development.