Bridging Africa’s Digital Divide: Nkechi Coker

Nkechi Coker conveys a richness of vibrancy in her voice anytime she speaks about digital equity. She knows the state of Africa’s digital divide is ghastly, but the resoluteness of her hope is what has carried her through the 10 plus years that she has been working with different organizations, tackling diverse issues on the continent. To name a few, Nkechi has worked with the World Bank, the Government of Nigeria, Microsoft Philanthropists, and Code4Africa. She also runs her own non-profit that she started in 2015, called Sabi Hub.

She recently joined the Open Contracting Partnership, a non-profit organisation that uses the power of open data and open government together to make sure public money is spent openly, fairly, and effectively to deliver better goods and services to citizens, deter corruption and create a better business environment for all. Her work as Open Contracting Partnership’s Senior Manager in Africa would have her champion the organization’s mission on the continent.

Nkechi holds a BSc in Electrical Electronics Engineering from the University of Port Harcourt and a Master of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Salford.

How was growing up for little Nkechi?

I grew up in the Southern part of Nigeria, as a young girl who was always curious about what the future would hold for me. As early as age 9, I was intensively thinking about what I needed to do to get to where I wanted to be in the future. I read a lot and consumed a lot of information. I don’t know if that thirst for information was instilled in me by my parents or it was just an outcome of my personality. I used to strongly think the former till I recently conducted personality research that seems to show that it was more likely to be a built-in inclination I had.

Being an inquisitive child could be overwhelming, but I managed to learn to harness the good in it over the years. My math and analytical skills were visible throughout my primary and secondary school years. A passion for physics combined with my interest in maths led me to choose engineering for my undergraduate studies.

My hope and dream were that someday, I would invent something from my training in engineering — I am still waiting for that day though…haha.

How did you end up in the digital skills training space?

If I told you I knew I would be on this path while I was in my undergraduate years, I would be kidding. The main problem I desired to solve as an electrical engineering student was Nigeria’s power problem. I had a lot of motivation for that, and if you are to take a look at my transcript, you would see that my highest scores were in power-related courses.

We had a computer at home, and I started spending a lot of time with the computer. My dad noticed my interactions with the computer and wanted me to develop my digital skills through an internship. I still had a strong desire to know why we were not having power consistently, so the agreement I had with my dad was that I would work 3 days with the power sector for industrial training, and 2 days with an IT department at a government institution.

Those experiences helped me learn a lot about myself. The work in the power sector required a lot of physical energy — climbing poles, working with cables, and fixing them. The IT role demanded a lot of mental energy. In both situations, I noticed I was mainly a problem solver, someone who loved to brainstorm executable solutions to real-world problems.

I graduated from university and my colleagues were mostly going for oil companies. I also tried pursuing that path but didn’t have a workable outcome. I got an opportunity to work with the government of Nigeria, specifically the Edo State Government of Nigeria, to use technology and data to solve economic problems and provide digital literacy for Nigeria’s civic society. That was how my journey into the digital space began.

What are your thoughts on Africa’s current digital divide?

The divide is still very huge in all ramifications — a large section of the continent is sadly left behind. We do have a part of the populace that is well equipped, but within that subset of the well equipped, how balanced is the gender ratio? There are many different cascading aspects that need some attention.

To give an example, you would often hear many people complaining that there are no jobs on the continent. You go-ahead to announce a vacancy for a technical role, and you soon realise that it is the skills that are not enough. What I have come to realise is that there are jobs, but there are many who haven’t upskilled to take up those jobs. And with the few who apply, it is just a tiny fraction that tends to be female.

However, all hope is not lost, in that we have a great youth population, positioning us to have a strong demographic dividend. Meanwhile, we still have a lot of unemployment. These all show the situation is just complex.

What needs to be done to see a change?

I think the educational system is the place to look at if we hope to change anything. How is the educational system preparing Africa’s young ones for the future of work? I was a victim of this lack of proper preparation from the educational sector. I didn’t have any solid digital skills classes factored into the curriculum I went through. I only got access to a computer because my dad purchased one. What if my dad didn’t get us a computer at home? Perhaps my story would have been different? That lets us know parents have a role to play as well.

We do have a demand springing up to see a change, with a lot of emerging non-profits and funding coming in to help bridge the digital divide. But why is the gap still in existence? There is a fundamental problem that is being overlooked — the setup of the educational system. Until the knots of this fundamental problem get disentangled, our likelihood of any significant change would remain insignificant.

To be a president in Nigeria, you don’t need a university degree. If we are aware that the primary and secondary school levels of education have the capacity to train an individual to impact an entire citizenry, why then do we not think deeply through how that part of the educational level could be structured to prepare a future-proof workforce?

What are your hopes for Africa’s future?

I hope for the best! I think we are already on our way there. There is growth, which is the most important factor at the moment, only that it is not currently at the ideal rate.

I think the positive resource we have in a youthful population is something that we are not prioritizing enough. We have very good youth demographics, but we need to put in the effort to invest in that part of the populace.

Well, I can best speak for myself, so kindly permit me to do so. I believe change comes through service, thus my perspective to use my time, abilities, and resources as a servant of impact on the continent. That is what brought me to starting Sabi Hubs in Nigeria, to support women who are victims of illegal migration, provide digital skills training to Nigeria’s youth, create co-working spaces and incubators for startups, and engender partnerships for economic growth. I have part of my personal earnings that I set aside for the funding of these projects, all because I am passionate about the future ahead.

In all these, I see light! I want to bring change wherever I go. I recently started thinking about new ways to support young Africans who have scholarship needs. How can we step in to provide some of those scholarships right here on the continent?

There is a place for institutional change and a place for policy transformation, but before we come to those, what are we as privileged individuals doing with the existing enabling environments we have? What are we doing to support those close to us that need the help we can offer?

Any final words?

To any young girl who is wondering what next, and to any young girl like myself in Africa — know that you can do anything you want to do. Don’t take no for an answer. I was told if I get too career-minded, I wouldn’t get a husband and all, but here I am gratefully married.

The people who have a direct impact on children are women. If a woman doesn’t have light, she cannot give her children light. What I yearn to do is to encourage women to strive higher, so that the lights of their children would shine even brighter.

Once a woman is empowered, the home is empowered, the community is empowered, and the generation is empowered. Even the man is empowered!!!

Nominate someone for me to interview.