Cisco helps Government boost ICT and entrepreneurial skills in West and Central Africa

16 August 2016 – Nigeria: This morning, Cisco, hosted 300+ instructors at the Cisco Networking Academy African Safari, an annual event that is held across English West and Central Africa for Academy Instructors and ICT students. Under the theme: Internet of Things (IoT), the three-day event will allow instructors and students the opportunity to build knowledge and skills through keynotes and breakout sessions that will bring enhanced value to their academies. Instructors will also get an opportunity to network with each other and learn about best practices.

Speaking at the opening this morning, the Honourable Minister for Education H.E. Mallam Adamu Adamu expressed that ICT Education is key to Nigeria’s National Development. This is also in line with Cisco’s CSR strategic priorities for Nigeria, which are human capital development and economic empowerment with a focus on ICT and entrepreneurial skills development through the Cisco Networking Academy.

In order to share our passion and in turn upskill the global workforce so that we have an employable workforce that understands how to operate in an IoT environment, Cisco established the Cisco Networking Academy. The Cisco Networking Academy is our flagship CSR programme where we partner with Government, schools, NGOs, colleges and universities to afford students the opportunity to become ICT networking professionals. In Nigeria, alone, Cisco, through the Networking Academy, has trained over 56,000 students (of which 38% are female) since its inception. Overall, Cisco’s Networking Academy has 26,116 students who are active participants with an instructor population of 175 in 132 academies, 6 ASCs and 9 ITCs.

“We are honoured to have the support of Government across Africa, who see the potential of the ICT industry in correlation to economic development. The speeches by the Honourable Minister for Education H.E. Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology for Ogun State H.E. Modupe Mujota, and Dr. Vincent Olatunji, Acting DG for National Information Technology Development Agenda (NITDA) all alluded to harnessing ICT for job creation, innovation and economic development which are in line with Cisco’s CSR strategy in Nigeria, and West and Central Africa as a whole,” says Alfie Hamid, Regional Manager for CSR at Cisco.

“In line with this, Cisco organises the annual Cisco Networking Academy African Safari in order to deliver quality and affordable professional development to Academy Instructors and subsequently equipping them to create positive and impactful experiences for their students.”

The event’s theme: IoT, is very relevant for innovation in the ICT industry and in education. Today, the Internet of Things encompasses more than 14 billion devices connected to the Internet, providing the technology foundation for IoT. IoT improves business outcomes through the intelligent networked connections among people, processes, data, and things/devices. This global phenomenon creates unprecedented economic opportunities to enhance productivity, sustainability and experiences.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Ms Sonwabise Sebata
Head of PR and Communications: Africa
Cisco
+27 267 1000 / ssebata@cisco.com