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YDEF Hosts African Youths on ICT Entrepreneurship
Printed in The Nigerian Comet, Nigeria Daily Champion, and Punch
July 26, 2004

Youths from over nine African countries, including Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, and Egypt, will be gathering in Lagos and Jigawa States next month for an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Entrepreneurship Conference, being organized by the Youth Development and Entrepreneurship Foundation (YDEF).

YDEF, a non-governmental organization (NGO), according to its leader, Mr. Sunday Ogunsanya, is using the platform to organize a national youth ICT conference tagged “ ‘YST’ Nigerian Youth ICT Entrepreneurship Conference 2004”.

A press statement from the organization said that the conferences have been slated to be held separately in Lagos and Jigawa States next month, from August 18 to August 24. The Lagos phase will be held at the British International School, while the Jigawa States event is scheduled for the Jigawa Hotels.

Part of the objective of the non-profit organization, Mr. Ogunsanya said, is to encourage the development and empowerment of youths globally with specific focus on IT and business entrepreneurship.

The foundation has created partnerships with many international organizations such as the Carolina Entrepreneurship Club from the U.S.A., Taking IT Global, Inc. from Canada, and the Entrepreneurs’ Coalition from the U.S.A. YDEF is an official partner with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

Speakers at the conference will include Ryan Allis, Michael Frudyk, Prof. Pat Utomi of the Lagos Business School, Gbenga Sesan, and Revesam Adeyemi. Mr. Allis, who has been referred to as the next Bill Gates, is CEO of Broadwick Corporation and Virante, Inc., both U.S. companies. He is also the chairman of the Carolina Entrepreneurs Club. Mr. Furdyk, consultant to Microsoft and CNN, is the Co-Founder of Taking IT Global, a Canadian based company. He is also a renowned international speaker and often called “the teenager that changed the world in 1999” after becoming a dot com millionaire by the age of 17.

Over 5000 students of secondary schools, undergraduates, graduates, job seekers, and aspiring entrepreneurs across the country are expected to participate at this historic conference. The conference will assist young people in acquiring basic entrepreneurship skills and development of their potential in all facets of ICT. “This would help in making them job creators, productive and contributing positively to the growth of Nigeria’s economy in the long run”, Mr. Ogunsanya asserted. Registration has since commenced online at www.YDEF.org.

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