Ajegunle is a notorious slum in Lagos, Nigeria, and home to over three (3) million inhabitants from all the tribes of West Africa. A long-time resident describes Ajegunle as: “a place where you watch your back, and keep at the survival game”. While the name Ajegunle usually evokes thoughts of poverty and crime, the real meaning of the community’s name is "residence of wealth" or “a land of commerce”. However, the only near-sign of this meaningful name is the few (very few, actually) young people who have developed thriving musical or football careers in spite of the harsh living conditions. A community worker who has reinvested much of his time towards youth development in the community is usually quick to mention the high level of prostitution and other social vices that majority of the Ajegunle youth population are exposed to.
We recognize that young people are major stakeholders who can literally redefine the social perception and realities in this unique environment. Considering the fact that thousands of young school leavers are street-hawking or engaged in one juvenile act or the other, and that this happens largely due to ignorance and lack of guidance, we are offering various opportunities provided by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to connect the huge youth population of this community with life-changing and wealth-creating opportunities. Beginning with an initial 6-month test phase (July – December 2007), the project will pursue its objectives through a positive peer pressure paradigm that works through a train-the-trainer scheme and adopts the principle of social entrepreneurship in order to ensure sustainability and create both value for all stakeholders.
 Project Objectives
While the overall objective of Ajegunle.org is to create better livelihoods through ICT opportunities, the project’s specific objectives include:
(a) Capacity building for 25 trainees every other month. These youth will be equipped with ICT and Entrepreneurship skills which they will then pass on to other youth, along with starting their own business;
(b) Community PC Ownership scheme that will provide an opportunity for trainees to acquire personal computers for their personal development and business needs;
(c) Telecentre development which will explore a sustainable telecentre model (built through the collective effort of project graduates, PIN and the community) that will provide ICT opportunities, and will be easily replicable in other locations.
The project’s sustainability model includes the delivery of capacity building sessions through volunteers, such as the role that the Korean Internet Volunteers (supported by the Korean Agency for Digital Opportunities and Promotion) played in the first cycle of the program. The model also allows students to join the program at no cost but they are expected to return 10% of their business profit to the project after completing the program. They are also expected to earn money from the training of at least five (5) youth within their community as second-level trainees of the Ajegunle.org project. In addition to this, each trainee is expected to save 20% of their profit towards the acquisition of personal computers.
Project Description
Building on the partnership between Uncommon Man Network (a non-profit organization based in Ajegunle) and Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, we began implementing this project through a baseline study that will help us feel the pulse of the project beneficiaries. Feedback from the research provides us with the curriculum content, and we will implement the project through a phased approach that begins with capacity building (August 2007 through June 2008), followed by the community PC ownership scheme (from January 2008) and then proceed to set up a community telecentre (from July 2008).
Selected youth will be exposed to technical and entrepreneurship training that will enable them to improve their livelihoods. These first level trainees will, in turn, train a minimum of 5 students over a 2-month period following their own training -- alongside a business venture that they will be guided to pursue. We expect that some of them may also establish a small business which will be supported through mentorship and providing a platform for their publicity. Each trainee is trained at no cost, but they are expected to provide training for others at a cost. 10% of their income will be paid to the project to cover initial cost of training and provide for additional support while 20% will be kept in a compulsory savings account (we hope to hold discussions with a Nigerian bank that will support the scheme and allow those who start small businesses to have access to loans and other facilities) towards the acquisition of a personal computer. As shown below, the project can reach one thousand and nine hundred (1,900) youth by November 2008 (even if we have only 3rd level trainings).
| | August 2007 | November 2007 | February 2008 | May 2008 | August 2008 | November 2008 | TOTAL |
| Level 1 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 150 |
| Level 2 | | | 125 | 125 | 125 | 125 | 500 |
| Level 3 | | | | | 625 | 625 | 1250 |
| Total | 25 | 25 | 150 | 150 | 775 | 775 | 1900 |
From January 2008, by which time we expect the first two sets of trainees to have completed the task of training their 5 other youths, we will introduce computer acquisition schemes to the trainees and others who are interested in the community. With support from Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, and leaning on existing computer acquisition schemes (Computer Aid International, Computer for All Nigerians Initiative, etc). We expect that from the first quarter of 2008, the project’s funds from trainees and additional support will help with the establishment of the telecentre – which will serve as a community information/research/networking/opportunity centre that will be able to deliver value and remain sustainable.
Conclusion
We recognize that young people are major stakeholders who can literally redefine the social perception and realities in this unique environment and, through Ajegunle.org, offer ICT-inspired opportunities to connect Ajegunle’s youth with life-changing opportunities. Traditional models of training a minimum of about 2,000 students with effective ICT and Entrepreneurship skills would have cost a fortune, but we believe that this project’s Relay Training model offers the opportunity to equip maximum youth through the use of minimum resources. Plus, this model can be easily replicated in any community. For details, please contact Ugo Nwosu (ugo.nwosu[at]ajegunle.org) or info[at]ajegunle.org
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