BY DAYO ADESULU
HexGn, a consulting firm known for fast-tracking entrepreneurship and upcoming technologies globally, has joined hands with the Africa Islamic Economic Foundation (AFRIEF) (www.AFRIEF.org) to launch its flagship start-up program, HexGn Start-up Explore, in Africa to accelerate the careers of African youth, including students, and graduates towards the innovation economy.
HexGn Start-up Explore, is an action learning programme that equips participants with critical thinking development skills, innovation, entrepreneurial mindset and informed choices for their future.
For Africa, HexGn is offering 100,000 StartUp Explore Programme licenses that will train and support 100,000 youth annually to become founders and owners of businesses, job creators and global age experts.
The scale and size of this program in Africa by HexGn, makes it one of the biggest skilling and career acceleration initiatives in the continent. It is hoped that this 24 week-long and high value deluxe program, which would be offered to select high potential African youth with scholarships grants for the needy, will create massive grassroots prosperity in Africa.
Through the program, they will undertake courses in high growth sectors like Artificial Intelligence, Agritech, Cybersecurity, Ecommerce, Social Media, Gaming and Entertainment and Fintech, along with the relevant skills to be entrepreneurial.
The program would empower participants to identify and make the most of the upcoming opportunities that will move them towards aspirational employment and success in a variety of settings.
Participants would be certified upon successful completion of this innovative program and can either pursue further courses in the selected technology to build more in-depth expertise and specialization across sectors and industries, build their own start-ups or join a remote internship globally.
The Start-up Explore Programme by HexGn is a worldwide endeavour by HexGn to increase the prospects of working population in the innovation economy, and the programme is being run in the Middle East, Central Asia, India and Africa. Many participants from our entrepreneurial readiness programs have won global recognition, investments and multiple awards.
Africa has the world’s largest working-age population of 1.1 billion. Getting this youth population to convert from demographic statistics to an economic force is of course a function of the level of investment and the momentum of development initiatives that can translate into jobs for the youth. By learning global skills, African youth can tap into global job market.
Pandemic induced new norm of “work from home” have made futuristic tech-enabled jobs available to the youth across the world. Through HexGn programs, African youth can also aim to be a part of the new global economy.
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Commenting on this collaboration, Mr Baba Yunus Muhammad, President of the Africa Islamic Economic Foundation, has this to say. “Entrepreneurship is a vital source of change in all facets of society, empowering individuals to seek opportunities where others see insurmountable problems.
For the past century, entrepreneurs have created many great enterprises that subsequently led to job creation, improved productivity, increased prosperity, and a higher quality of life. I am happy to note that entrepreneurship is playing a vital role in finding solutions to the huge challenges, including energy, environment, health, security, and education facing the African continent.
I am optimistic that this collaboration with HexGn will accelerate technology entrepreneurship in Africa, the kind of entrepreneurship that identifies high-potential and technology-intensive commercial opportunities, gathers resources such as talent and capital, and manages rapid growth and significant risks using principled decision-making skills.”
On his part, Mr Japreet Sethi, the CEO of HexGn has this to say: “We cannot have lopsided growth, where only one part of the world innovates and other consumes. The next decade will see the rise of innovators from Africa and it will, in turn, move the African continent towards the innovation-based economy, lifting millions from poverty and underemployment.”
