The Digital Katsina State Project (DigiKat) says it is targeting to educate, empower, upskill and make about four million individuals and groups digitally compliant by 2027.

Muttaqa Rabe, president of the DigiKat Advisory Board, disclosed this during the flag-off of digital skills training for 15,000 people on Sunday in Katsina. He said the training is open to indigenes, including students and civil servants interested in acquiring digital skills.

Mr Rabe said teachers would be involved to ensure they impart digital skills to their students.

“It is one of the major ways that the target of digitising the state can be achieved and become sustainable,” he said.

Muhammad Abbas-Usman, the DigiKat monitoring and evaluation Unit Lead, said the project was a transformative initiative to digitise the state.

“It was also designed to empower people of the state with essential digital skills and create a conducive environment for technological innovation and entrepreneurship.

“The aim is also to make the state digitally compliant and improve the ease of doing business, create job opportunities for youths, and narrow the digital divide.

“The project will also help the state to become one of the largest digital consumer bases in the country and provide opportunities for local-level businesses to become global,” he said.

Mr Abbas-Usman added that the project would enhance efficiency in the public services by making public servants computer literate. The project lead also said it would develop efficient trade mechanisms and encourage technology and digital transformation of individuals and groups.

“The major goal of the DigiKat is to make the state digital and thus improve the ease of doing business, help Katsina state youth to acquire relevant digital skills.

“Help the youth transit their skills into gainful employment, increase their income earning potential and assist a portion of the unemployed youths in the state,” he said.

Mr Abbas-Usman said the project would provide the youths with computer literacy through online courses, library and digitisation training, online clinic and market, innovation lab and DigiKat pay.

(NAN)