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>View discussions about this entry Country: Nigeria
Organization: Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
Year the initative began (yyyy) 2007
YouTube Upload: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t0E6yt2uYCA
Project URL: http://www.ajegunle.org
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
Describe your program or new idea in one sentence. It is an ICT and Entrepreneurship train-the-trainer project that seeks to use positive peer pressure to create change in Ajegunle – a populous slum in Nigeria.
What makes your initiative uniquely positioned to create change in your community? Ajegunle is a peculiar community of mostly young people who have either dropped out of school or never attained High School level. The project is strategically positioned in Ajegunle to make the desired impact because we understand the community having identified a reputable local partner and have set clear objectives for the community.
We have also tapped into the activity of a few young people who are already engaged in community development efforts, sharpening their Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skills as well as moulding them into role models that will evoke peer pressure among the others. These young people strategically spread across the community will easily achieve the needed impact by implementing the project’s train the trainer model. Describe how you organize and carry out your work? It is a four phase project, comprising; Baseline study (to determine trends and community needs), capacity building (ICT and Entrepreneurship training), computer acquisition for graduates and finally developing an information center for the community. A great percentage of the project is carried out by volunteers, who of course include young people who once lived in this community but have created a good life for themselves through hard work and dedication. The entire project is coordinated by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
What is your plan to scale and expand your innovation into your community and beyond? After the second phase of the project, each graduate is expected to train at least five other young people from his/her location as well as implement the personal business plan developed during the entrepreneurship training. This will aid the spread of Ajegunle.org idea into the community as well mobilize a group of technology aware young people. Also during the fourth phase of the project, a telecenter will be designed and set up in the community, to serve as training and resource center. Ajegunle is a test ground for this new model and as such we have built on the successes and shortcomings of the completed phases of the project as well as feedback from the community and experts to design a concept document tagged, “my community.org”, to encompass a general explanation of all the various stages of the project to serve as a working template for easy replication in other communities that might need it. A website will also be dedicated
What other resources, institutional, or policy needs would be necessary to help sustain and scale up your idea? After graduating through a customized training tailored to their specific needs, these young people will also require some professional training and experience. Thus we require ICT and business development institutions to offer more training for these young people at no cost. We might also require these institutions to provide us with their facilities for various trainings and events until the community information center is in place.
Experience at the work place is also a strong component of the idea. We approach companies and firms to take in these young people for a short period of paid internship positions on graduation. We already enjoy such from the Trade and Investment Division, British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Nigeria, but we expect more firms to follow suit. Finally, we expect that financial and micro credit institutions will support their businesses by either direct investment or offering credit facilities to be monitored by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria. We also do appreciate in-kind donations especially training equipments. Describe your impact in one sentence, commenting on both the individual and community levels. Creating role models and positive peer pressure that will drive socio-economic development in this underserved community.
What impact has your work achieved to date? At the inception of the training, we had a pool of twenty (25) young people, eager to learn but no idea of where to head. About 40% of the trainees had not used a computer before, while the rest only had a little knowledge of computer operations. At the end of two weeks of ICT training, they were managing data in excel sheets as well as pictures with Photoshop. The entrepreneurship training also opened their minds to the various business opportunities that are abound in their community as well as the practicalities of implementing these projects. We have had a lot of positive stories, from Funke in her recharge card business, to Famous training five (5) of his peers for a fee, while Matthew, Emmanuel and Ego has spent about one (1), One (1), and three (3) months respectively at the Trade and Investment section, British Deputy High Commission Lagos, Nigeria. As a result, their views have changed and they are working towards sustainability.
What measure do you use to gauge your impact and why? The main yard stick is the transformation in the lives of participants as well as response from the community. Since we hope to create peer pressure, we can witness real impact when the graduates live a transformed life and the community accepts our conviction. This simply fits into our model of creating the desired change in the community.
How is your initiative currently being financed and how would you finance further expansion and/or replication? The Initiative is currently financed by personal savings and in-kind donations that include; Cash, Computers, Venue, Manpower (volunteers), free profesional trainings as well as other equipments.
We have already soought and got a few support from donor agencies as well as investment partners for developing the Ajegunle information Center, which is the next future expansion. we also look forward to more more as we expect the project to start making profit after the second yaer of take-off. Provide information on your current finances and organization: a. The annual budget for basic implementation of ajegunle.org which trains twenty-five (25) people every quarter is NGN2,800,000. (b)So far we have not projectetd any income for the project as we are still in the initial stages, but when fully functional, the project is expected to raise NGN10,450,000 yearly. (c)Sources of revenue will include 10% returns from graduates from their trainings and businesses, income from the telecenter, investments in businesses of graduates as well as grants and donations, of which a greater percentage will come from investments. (d) At the moement, the project has one (1) full time staff, Two (2) part-time staff and Ten (10) volunteers, but the staff number will increase in the fall of 2008.
Who are your potential partners and allies? We have had various allies in various aspects of the project ranging from training support, facilitation, and internships. They include; The Uncommon Man Network, Fate Foundation, the Trade and Investment Section of the British Deputy High Commission, Lagos, Nigeria, Hands-on Institute of Information Technology, Korea Agency for Digital Opportunities, Success Attitude Development Center, Lagos, Junior Achievement Nigeria, and Teledom International.
Who are your potential investors? At the moment, we expect that larger firms whose core expertise lies in the businesses chosen by the graduates will be able to invest in these young people. We also expect that we will get some micro credit firms to provide support for these young people in their businesses.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. The journey to Ajegunle started sometime in 2004, when Paradigm Initiative Executive Director, ‘Gbenga Sesan, then in the employ of Junior Achievement Nigeria was invited to speak at an event organized by the Uncommon Man Network. He discovered the potentials in this community and pledged to extend his ICT advocacy to Ajegunle. But this did not come to pass until March 2007. I had just graduated from university in and was working with ‘Gbenga Sesan as an assistant in his independent consulting work as well volunteering towards the institutionalization of Paradigm Initiative Nigeria. Having worked in the rural areas of southeastern Nigeria, providing basic ICT training for rural young people as well helping them develop their own businesses, I had a good knowledge working with under served communities. I had also managed a service company with about one hundred and fifty workers at age seventeen, which equipped me with real management skills.
When ‘Gbenga said we need to do stuff in Ajegunle, I felt I was truly equipped and in the right place to carry out this God sent assignment. In line with Paradigm Initiative Nigeria’s vision, we thought of the best way to impact on the lives of these young people and decided ICT and entrepreneurship is the way to go. Incidentally we discovered the true meaning of the name, “Ajegunle” which in Yoruba language meant, “filled with wealth” while the real situation of the cimmunity is poverty, crime and juvenile activities. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. Ugochukwu Nwosu is currently the program manager of Ajegunle.org. He has estensive experience in business development and management having managed a service delivery company of about one hundered and fifty (150) employees at age seventeen (17). He also has experience working with under served youths in southeast Nigerian, equiping them with basic ICT skills as well as helping tem start and manage their businesses. In 2007, he graduated from Federal University of Technology Owerri, with a Btech. in Industrial Physics.
Contact Information:
Ugochukwu Nwosu
Program Manager Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (NGO/Social Enterprise) ugo.nwosu@ajegunle.org 18, Akinbola Street, Ilupeju, Lagos Nigeria Tel: +234 803 747 4312 Fax: N/A Website: www.pin.org.ng Discussions about this entry |
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report001[1].pdf |
Hello, Ugochukwu. I enjoyed your video slide show. Greetings from Baltimore, Maryland USA.
Is your program targeted toward or designed in any way specifically for young men at risk? Or is your program designed to serve young women as well? Are young women at risk of the same kinds of troubles in Ajegunle as young men? If not, what are the differences? Are boys subject to different expectations than girls? Do boys have the same kinds of social supports as girls have?
Jack (John R.) Kammer
University of Maryland
Current student, MSW/MBA Dual-Degree Program
Hello Jack,
Thanks for your interest in Ajegunle.org.
Generally, young women and men do not have the same kind of needs and expectations. In Ajegunle - the current location of the project, the major issues are self development and economic empowerment. Since our solution seek to ameliorate the core problem which cut across gender needs and expectations, we can gladly say that it is specifically designed for young people at risk - men and women inclusive.