DAKKADA DIGITAL SKILLS TRAINING 1.0: EQUIPPING AKWA IBOM ENTREPRENEURS FOR GLOBAL EXPLOITS

“The Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating a demand for new competencies and the need for upskilling, un-learning, re-learning and re-training has never been more severe than now.”
― Nicky Verd

According to unesco.org, digital skills are defined as a range of abilities to use digital tools, devices, communication, application and networks to access and manage information. African e-commerce writers – afrodigital.org puts it differently thus - “Digital skills are any skills that give you the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet.”

From the foregoing, it becomes clear that in any field of endeavour, digital skills are a viable and valuable add-on that enhances efficiency and guarantees productivity.

In times past, entrepreneurs isolated themselves from fields that didn’t have any direct impact or bearings with their enterprise or craft. For instance, a graphic designer or even a woods craft man had little or nothing to do with storytelling, content development or digital marketing. However, with the advent of the internet, newer trends have emerged, and this has obsoleted the traditional markets as we knew it. The internet has affected all aspects our lives and entrepreneurship has not been spared. Digital technology connects people and machines with one another to deliver an experience which was far beyond our reach decades ago.
Some of the ways digital skills optimize entrepreneurship include:
- Communication
- Branding
- Marketing
- Audience
- Networking
- Automation
- Recruitments and outsourcing.

Digital skills have been proven overtime to be effective in reducing operating costs, which ultimately increases an entrepreneur’s chances of succeeding. In fact, pundits believe that digital skills helps MSMEs to compete squarely with larger businesses and increase their effectiveness.

It is therefore laudable that in Akwa Ibom State, the Governor Udom Emmanuel Administration is not just taking entrepreneurship development seriously, but also placing premium on the acquisition of Digital skills by these entrepreneurs. Recently, the Directorate of Marketing and Brand Management announced an upgrade programme tagged Dakkada Digital Skills Training 1.0 for entrepreneurs who had been previously trained in the My Entrepreneurship goals programme (MEGP), listing areas of focus for the Dakkada Digital Skills training to include Web development, graphics design, storytelling, social media marketing, as well as photography and videography.


Dakkada Digital Skills Training
The Dakkada Digital Skills Program is a Skills Acquisition training for Digipreneurs, an initiative of your administration, under the supervision of the Directorate of Marketing and Brand Management. Targeted at assisting Digipreneurs acquire up-to-date digital skills, it seeks to create business linkages among indigenous Entrepreneurs and assist in reducing the cost of digital services, while growing the network.

The program is designed to teach Digipreneurs modern digital skills that will enable them market and grow business solutions, and will equip participants with the knowledge required to apply best practices in Web Development, Digital Marketing, Graphic design, Photography & Cinematography, Social Media Marketing, Storytelling & Content Curation in the global marketplace.

The global Internet of Things (IoT) market stood at $384.7 Billion in 2021; this is expected to rise to $2.465 Trillion over the next 7 years at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 26.4%. Governor Emmanuel’s investments in nascent Digipreneurs and Human Capital Development at large will secure a significant economic return for the State.

Clearly, with the Dakkada Digital Skills Training 1.0, entrepreneurs in Akwa Ibom State can safely look forward to not just being trained in business basics, but also be equipped with 21st century compliant skills set that will enable them compete on the global scale.

Impressive!