A VillageAmong Us
Partnering to Empower Youth Through the Lagos Digital Village
‘Gbenga SesanProgram Manager
Lagos Digital Villagewww.lagosdigitalvillage.org.ng
www.gbengasesan.com | [email protected]
ITU/KADO WSIS Thematic Meeting on MSPs and the Digital Divide. Seoul, Korea.June 23/24, 2005
ICTs in Nigeria… Following obvious global directions and internal
motivation/need, Nigeria (population: 128m) has beentaking ICTs a lot more serious than what we had in the late90s
At the moment, we have specialised government agenciesworking around ICTs (IT, telecoms and broadcasting): National IT Development Agency (NITDA) – www.nitda.gov.ng; Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) – www.ncc.gov.ng; Nigerian Cybercrime Working Group (NCWG) – www.ncwg.gov.ng; National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) – www.nbc-nig.org; and others
Private sector efforts, led by the telecommunications andbanking sectors are becoming increasingly evident ePayment systems, including ongoing banking consolidation and heavy investment in
ICTs and system integration Mobile telephony infrastructure, including Glo 1 (Globacom’s Optic Fibre project) Competition is obvious within the telecommunications and computing sectors – leading
to innovation and promotion of value added services Nigeria now manufactures and exports PCs – Omatek, Zinox, Beta, UNIC Mobile applications (M-Banking, FlashMeCash) are being introduced by the day Partnering with government to deliver the Nigerian eGovernment Strategies Limited
ICTs in Nigeria… Civil Society (media, academia, NGOs, youth, gender, etc) is
becoming increasingly involved in national, regional andinternational processes
There have been several attempts at qualifying ICTs indexaround the country but it appears that there is no central andauthoritative baseline study result (outside the Nigerian indiceswithin global indices)
However, statistics are readily available for thetelecommunications sector, and this is not unconnected to thesuccess of mobile telephony in the country
Increasingly, industry players are beginning to see power as amajor challenge to the growth of the industry and the Nigerianeconomy at large – the National Electrical Power Authority(NEPA) is largely regarded as a failed corporation but ongoingreforms are promising change: A new company (Power Holdings PLC) has been announced and several sub-companies
created from the former NEPA
ICT Infrastructure in Nigeria…
44441Number of LicensedMobile Operators
303019169Number of ActiveLicensed Fixed LineOperators
3535303018Number of OperatingISPs (Internet accessaverages 75c per hour)
22221Number of NationalCarriers
3.8m3.1m2.05m1.6mNoneNumber of ConnectedDigital Mobile Lines*
888,854850,000724,790702,000450,000Number of ConnectedFixed Lines*
Mar-04Dec-03Jun-03Dec-02Dec-00
*Fixed telephones has been only about doubled from about 450,000 in 1999 to about 1.2 million, whilemobile increased geometrically from 35,000 analogue lines in 1999 to about 12.8 million digitallines by May 2005 (Source: Nigerian Communications Commission)
ICT Infrastructure in Nigeria…
Total teledensity was 0.4 lines per 100 inhabitants in 1999; reached 1.96 in Dec 2002It increased to 3.33 in December 2003. By March 2004, the total teledensity was estimatedat 3.92 lines per 100 inhabitants (Source: Nigerian Communications Commission)
50.00
150.00
1,200.00
2,100.00
2,550.00
2,550.00(estima
te)
4,000.00(estima
te)
0.00 1,000.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 4,000.00
Dec 99
Dec-00
Dec-01
Dec-02
Jun-03
Sep-03
Dec-03
Private Investment (USD million) - 1999 - 2003
Lagos Digital Village Free Information Technology training and opportunity centre
for Nigeria’s youth: The vision of the village is to raise “a new generation of Nigerian youth who are well
equipped with appropriate Information Technology skills and are well positioned forpersonal development, nation building and global participation”
Key to bridging the digital divide and opening doors for manyunderserved young Nigerians, improve their values and qualityof life, and help them to attain greatest heights in theeducational and job markets in which they would otherwisehave never had the opportunity
Multi-stakeholder partnership between Junior Achievement ofNigeria (www.janigeria.org), Microsoft (www.microsoft.com)and the Lagos State Government (www.lagosstate.gov.ng), andit enjoys support from volunteer tutors and the LagosMainland Local Government
Commissioned on the 28th of May 2004 by the ExecutiveGovernor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
Lagos Digital Village Outside training, project has a Lagos State-sponsored cyber café The cyber café (LDV’s revenue base as a Social Enterprise)
houses 39 computers and enjoyed initial internet accessthrough a grant provided by the United States governmentthrough the Nigeria-America Information Initiative: Presently being reactivated after the first vendor’s failure at service provision
Programs presently being run at the village include First Steps(Computer Appreciation); Intricate Details (How to build yourown Computer); Work Better (Office Productivity Tools); andGreat Leap (Internet and the World Wide Web) About 300 students trained, and program delivery ranges from 3 weeks to 2 months and
courses are taught by a faculty made up of volunteers who are qualified InformationTechnology instructors who wish to contribute their own quota to the emergence of a NewNigeria where young people can compete favourably with their peers anywhere in theworld after they might have been equipped with appropriate Information Technology skills
Additional programs to be introduced in the project’s secondyear include the Software Development Incubation Program(SDIP) and industry certification training
Multistakeholder… After several meetings and consultations spanning a period of
about 2 years, JA Nigeria, Microsoft and the Lagos StateGovernment agreed on the terms of the project
Lagos State Government’s role in the Digital Village project isto provide an enabling environment and bring the projectcloser to the community
Microsoft’s role in the program is to promote participation ofinformation technology suppliers and champion creative usesand services provided at the Digital Village
JA Nigeria’s role in the Digital Village project is to implementIT and JA programs, coordinate the training activities of thecenter, and ensure efficient delivery of programs for the benefitof underserved youth
There were initial concerns – government involvement, youthand internet fraud, etc – but the project has shown that thoseare not the real challenges for MSP projects
Barriers and Benefits Major benefit is the fact that this program helps shine light on
the shadow of fears for such partnerships – traditional projectdelivery is NOT superior to MSPs. Other benefits include: Stakeholders’ meetings always reveal strengths of partners and how such can meet others’
incompetencies Government projects in Nigeria are usually expected to fail but this MSP brought out the
strength in government’s access to infrastructure, the private sector’s publicity strategies,and the civil society’s role as the last mile solution provider
The model has become more popular in the country, with an industry vendor promisingthe roll-out of 5 Digital Villages, and Lagos State working towards additional four
Barriers in this MSP do not lean mostly towards the model, butthe environment. They include: The likelihood that partners get absorbed in other projects that can bring them mileage to
the possible detriment of the ongoing project. Who does what when things aren’t working?Though clearly stated in the MOU, partners often delay in response to project
Power supply has been a major challenge in this project. With the National Electric PowerAuthority’s crippling inefficiency in the Ebute Metta area, about $140 is spent on thegenerator (60 KVA, donated by Lagos State) each week – Monday through Friday
Inconsistent Internet access (due to first vendor’s failure and inability to pay new VSATservice provider) has eaten deep into the income base of the project
Due to interruption in café income, additional funds (grants) are being sought
Lessons & Applications The first quick lesson on the project was the need to
understand how each project partner operates – and how thatdefines their vision for the project
It was also enlightening to identify the meeting point betweenproject and partner needs – what each partner seeks to achievefrom their involvement in the project
Cost savings can come through the use of volunteers forprograms’ delivery – serving as both tutors and mentors
The MSP model is easily replicable in other locations – eitherdeveloping or developed – with only the need to identifycharacteristic operating conditions and reflect the same in theproject development and operation plan
Example: Benue State Government visited the LDV. After aphysical tour and discussion on Benue’s perculiarities, we satdown and identified the possible challenges and opportunitieswhile developing the Benue Digital Village
LDV in Pictures…
LDV is housed in the Lagos Mainland Local Government Library, a renovated building…
LDV in Pictures…
The days before project take-off, at a Stakeholders’ meeting…
LDV in Pictures…
The LDV hosted the training of Lagos State secondary school ICT teachers …
LDV in Pictures…
The Honourable Commissioner for Science and Technology stresses a point…
LDV in Pictures…
Mr. Chris Uwaje (Graduation Keynote Speaker) hands out one of the first certificates…
LDV in Pictures…
Lagos Mainland Local Government Chairman assists Mr. Uwaje in demystifying ICTs…
LDV in Pictures…
Stakeholders, LDV staff and students on graduation day for the first batch of students…
LDV in Pictures…
Emeka (Great Leap) has worked on two jobs to raise money for tuition at the University
Conclusion Feedback from our programs reveal the level of impact that
MSPs can have on young people – who represent the future(work force, decision makers and innovation leaders): “Frankly speaking, this is the best computer program now because we hav e enough materials, e.g. computers for
ev ery student, no power failure because there is a standby generator, and there are qualified lecturers orinstructors who are competent for the program. Finally , the env ironment is conduciv e for both lecturers and thestudents for proper learning. A big thank y ou to the organizers of the program. I am also using this opportunityto inform the management of the LDV to giv e the present students another chance for further programs becausethe duration of the program is short, please in the name of Almighty God. Thanks for y our cooperation.” –Emiabata Razaq Olanipekun, First Steps student
“Well, to me, it’s been wonderful all the way . LDV is where I get free computer training on I nternet and the WorldWide Web (Great Leap), making the general notion that “ there is no free lunch in Lagos” a taboo! If y ou’re notinv olv ed, sorry oh, y ou are missing a lot. It is real and educating, come and ride along.”– Emeka Onyenekwe,20, Great Leap student
Volunteers are increasingly discovering the need formentorship and are willing to commit time to helping with thedelivery of programs: “As a v olunteer instructor, I want to commend the project initiators for the idea to create awareness and train
y oung people in Information Technology at no cost. I believ e it is going to do us a lot of good, since InformationTechnology education is v ery expensiv e and many cannot afford it. It will also serv e as an av enue to train they ounger ones and impact the knowledge in them at an early age so that they can meet up with the world, whichhas become a global v illage through Information Technology , so as to reshape our own part of the world.” –Bobby Bright, Volunteer Tutor
The Social Enterprise model will help MSPs that have a leaningtowards non-profit work to sustain themselves and depend lesson infrequent donor support
THANK YOUPartnering to Empower Youth Through the Lagos Digital Village
‘Gbenga SesanProgram Manager
Lagos Digital Villagewww.lagosdigitalvillage.org.ng
www.gbengasesan.com | [email protected]
ITU/KADO WSIS Thematic Meeting on MSPs and the Digital Divide. Seoul, Korea.June 23/24, 2005
