[dropcap]K[/dropcap]wara State Government has unveiled a Computer Village in Ilorin to boost job creation and entrepreneurship development among youth in the state.
With the groundbreaking of the Computer Village called Harmony Hub in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, the government says the plan is to offer employment to some 600 youths.
According to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed who performed the groundbreaking, the Computer Village would directly employ about 600 youths when fully operational apart from the hundreds of indirect jobs that would be created in the process of its construction.
The Computer Village which is estimated to cost N500 million would be funded through contractor financing as well as pre-sales or off-taker arrangements, the Governor says.
He noted that Information Communication Technology (ICT) has huge potential of employment generation and empowerment, saying, “Nigeria’s ICT sector is reputed as the largest in Africa with $18b investments and 28 percent internet penetration as of 2013.”
The Governor promised that his government would continue to work with the network of investors, and other stakeholders to deepen the supporting infrastructure and ensure that quality standards are maintained across board with a view to accelerating the momentum of the ICT sector in the state.
Also speaking, Professor Halidu Abubakar, the Chairman, Board of Directors of Harmony Holdings Limited identified ICT as an integral part of doing business across the world, pointing out that the Computer Village would create a specialised market for computer and allied instruments.
Earlier in his address, Tope Daramola, the Group Managing Director, Harmony Holdings Limited, disclosed that the edifice would sit on 4,600 square meters of land.
Daramola added that the Computer Village would host a cluster of high-tech businesses and associated businesses that favour Information Technology-related business that would enable the state to serve as a hub in ICT.
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