CITAD Host Business Support Clinic For Youths in Kano
By Mustapha Salisu
In a collaborative effort to enhance productivity and drive success, the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) partnered with the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) to host a Business Support Clinic for e-Waste and DICI_YOW trainees in Kano State.
The event, held at CITAD’s Kano Office, brought together experts from CAC, BOI, and TIC who shared valuable insights, networking opportunities, and guidance with participants to help them refine their business strategies.
Engr. Y.Z. Ya’u, the Executive Director of CITAD, represented by the Centre’s Senior Programs Manager, Malam Isa Garba, explained that the business support clinic aimed to connect emerging businesses with potential mentors who could listen to their challenges and provide solutions to their business ideas.
The training focused on two categories: e-Waste, teaching participants how to repair, recover, and reuse electronic waste, and Digital Livelihood Skills, focusing on basic ICT and digital marketing. The goal was to reduce unemployment rates in Nigeria and equip participants with the skills to become employers.
During the event, Al-Mustapha Dahiru, Corporate Affairs Commission’s Regional Manager, (CAC), highlighted the importance of registering with CAC, emphasizing that it opens doors to grants from both government and non-governmental organizations.
Hajiya Fatima Abdullahi Paiko from the Bank of Industry (BOI) clarified that BOI doesn’t disburse cash but provides plant items or machinery for enhanced service delivery. She encouraged trainees to shift their mindset from considering government loans as free money.
Aliyu Iliyasu from the Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) explained that their facility provides an enabling environment for emerging tech businesses to be incubated.
Participants, Hameeda Abba Sani and Bello Umar Faruk, expressed gratitude to CITAD for the training opportunity and pledged to use the knowledge gained to boost their business ideas, aiming to become self-reliant entrepreneurs and employers of labor.
