UNICEF Trains 35,000 Katsina Girls in Entrepreneurship, Livelihood Skills
Kola Oyelere, Katsina
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has launched the Skills4Girls Programme in Katsina State, targeting 35,000 adolescent girls with entrepreneurial and livelihood skills to enhance their economic independence and employment opportunities.
The programme was launched on Monday during a co-creation session with adolescent girls held at Tourist Lodge Hotel, Katsina.
UNICEF Adolescent Development Specialist, Abuja, Ngozi Izuora-Songu, said the initiative was designed to equip girls aged 10 to 19 with practical skills that could open opportunities in employment, entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods.
She said the programme would also enable beneficiaries to use the skills acquired to improve their personal circumstances and contribute positively to their communities.
According to her, the intervention would initially be implemented in Katsina, Funtua, Kaita and Dutsi Local Government Areas, with entrepreneurship development and employability among its major areas of focus.
Izuora-Songu explained that Katsina was selected as the first state for the programme following UNICEF’s assessment of the learning gap between boys and girls in the state.
She disclosed that the intervention would run from 2026 to 2029, with 47,500 beneficiaries expected to be reached through its various components.
She said in addition to the 35,000 adolescent girls targeted, 7,500 boys would benefit, while another 5,000 teachers, mentors, trainers and community members in the selected local government areas would also be reached.
The UNICEF specialist said the programme would promote inclusion by deliberately reaching both in-school and out-of-school girls, including those living with physical disabilities.
She explained that the beneficiaries would first undergo a theoretical and interactive phase before proceeding to practical skills training.
According to her, the initial phase would enable the girls to identify and discuss viable skills and economic opportunities available within their communities.
She said the exercise would help UNICEF and its partners identify skills that were relevant to local needs and had the potential to attract patronage, thereby improving the prospects of beneficiaries turning their training into sustainable sources of income
Izuora-Songu described Skills4Girls as an extension of UNICEF’s ongoing interventions aimed at expanding opportunities and improving the prospects of young people across Nigeria.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of the Katsina State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Dr Kabir Magaji, said the initiative would complement efforts to reduce dependency among young people, particularly girls.
Magaji said the partnership between UNICEF and SUBEB would provide beneficiaries with skills capable of strengthening their economic independence and enabling them to contribute to the welfare of their families.
He said the programme was also in line with the Katsina State Government’s “Building Your Future” agenda, particularly its emphasis on youth empowerment and skills acquisition.
The SUBEB chairman urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously and make maximum use of the opportunity provided by UNICEF and the state government.
He encouraged the girls to acquire as much knowledge as possible, stressing that the skills could serve as a foundation for securing their future as well as improving the wellbeing of their families and communities.