MIT Solve

Solution Overview & Team Lead Details

Solution name.

YandyTech Community

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

Community for Decent Jobs and Economic Growth Opportunities

What specific problem are you trying to solve?

I grew up in a middle-class family in a semi-urban Rigasa community of Kaduna State in Northern Nigeria, where 69% of out-of-school children are in this region (UNICEF 2021), we have been historically underrepresented in the tech ecosystem.

In Northern Nigeria where I was born and brought up, For over 2 decades we have historically been underrepresented in the tech ecosystem. Digital inequality in skills and the use of digital platforms negatively impact young people, hindering their economic empowerment. As a young leader, I realised that working to Increase digital literacy among young people is one of the best strategies to enhance youth's emancipation and participation in digital ecosystems.

The evolution of technology in solving social problems and building sustainable solutions is the reason why I believe this is the right time to solve the issues of digital illiteracy in Northern Nigeria. which needs an urgent intervention in Education Technology will boost the economic growth opportunities of Northern Nigeria

States in northern Nigeria, for many years, have lagged behind in education technology among the 36 states of the federation; but not for lack of funding. The data on the literacy index recently published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the huge gap in the educational development between southern and northern Nigeria is yet to close up, nearly sixty years after independence. Despite decades of funding, the digital literacy level in the northern states remains low due to the Language barrier.

Hence the giving birth of YandyTech Community and it’s initiative DigiLabs to democratise access to global opportunities and localise technology the contents and make it easier for budding tech enthusiasts to easily navigate through the book and visuals to solve their community problems and create wealth for themselves as entrepreneurs or freelancers, and improve the overall digital economy of their region.

Elevator pitch

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What is your solution?

YandyTech Community is a youth-focused tech social impact organisation that promotes inclusive and sustainable economic growth, decent jobs and clean energy for all.

YandyTech has an online platform that gives young people access to life-changing opportunities and matches them with companies or organisations for full-time, part-time, or internship roles.

YandyTech has an initiative called DigiLabs. DigiLabs localise tech education contents into the Hausa language which is widely spoken in Northern Nigeria, which improves access to education technology and skills opportunities for the region, which is left behind by the rapidly changing digital economy and also supports digital skills and the adoption of technologies that empower learners’ access to education and skills development opportunities in the region.

Our solution is bridging the gap and working to increase digital literacy among young girls, students and women, using the best strategies of creativity, functional skills, e-safety, effective communication, ability to find information, collaboration, cultural, social understanding, critical thinking and evaluation to enhance the region’s emancipation and participation in digital ecosystems.

Who does your solution serve? In what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Our solution is targeted at young people, girls and young women aged 13 - 35 from Northern Nigeria because we have been historically underserved and underrepresented in the technology ecosystem.

We use web technologies to develop a platform where we promote and democratise access to decent jobs, economic growth opportunities and localised technology content through our blog posts. Our platform have the following features;

Jobs Lab: is where young people access job opportunities that match their skills. full-time, part-time, onsite, or remote roles.

Fellowship: is were young people access fellowship opportunities to help fine-tune their professional development

Scholarship: is where young people access scholarships for universities, boot camps, and online courses.

Events: this gives young people access first-hand notifications on credible global conferences, seminars, workshops, hackathons, and meetups.

DigiLabs: An initiative of YandyTech localising & supporting young people with Tech Education and Mentorship to prepare them for the future jobs.

Community: is were young people access our community to connect with experts in development, tech and access opportunities at your comfort zone

Hire (Get Featured): is where our community members who are looking for jobs get featured on our website with their skills and hiring managers will Reach out to them directly.

The Beta version of the platform through which tracked by Google Analytics has over 3.2k since launched on 15th December, 2022.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

We have a wide range of experienced and expert young professionals in our team ranging from Software Developers, Data Scientists/Analysts, Certified Project Management Experts, Communications and Design Experts, Teachers Journalists and Social Media Strategist who are working full-time to shape the organisation and solution on a daily basis.

My team’s life, volunteers and experiences helped me understand those we serve through dialogue, and creating a sense of community and ownership to the people we serve.

We have 4 women and 6 men on our team shaping and scaling our solution.

What steps have you taken to understand the needs of the population you want to serve?

We deployed different surveys to our potential users and I have also volunteered for different organisations working towards achieving SDG8: Decent Work and Economic Growth where I understand the problem young people are facing, hence giving birth to YandyTech.

Our Potential users have been engaged in the design and development of YandyTech Community, right from the wireframes design to the actual design and development before deploying and launching the beta version to the public.

Which aspects of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Improving financial and economic opportunities for all (Economic Prosperity)

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization deploying a tested product, service, or business model in at least one community

In what city, town, or region is your solution team located?

Kaduna, Nigeria

Who is the Team Lead for your solution?

Mohammed Bayero Yayandi