GreyHobb, Kaduna – Beyond Co-working
At its core, GreyHobb (by Greysoft Technologies – www.greysoft.ng) seeks to create strong communities and foster synergies, adding greater value to everyone who participates in the ecosystem. The dynamic energy of this space helps people feel that they are part of something larger than themselves and that others care about their success and want to help propel their ideas forward.
Greysoft Technologies Nigeria – http://www.greysoft.ng is at the heart of tremendously alleviating poverty through a strong campaign and implementation of digital literacy. The Greysoft Innovation Hub popularly known as GreyHobb, situated in Kaduna state of Northern Nigeria has a simple mandate – “Help people leverage technology for improved livelihood“.
Greysoft’s CEO, Isah Raphael in an interview stated that “with the right level of digital literacy, poverty can be rapidly alleviated if not eradicated”. According to GSMA, the number of smartphone users in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to reach half a billion in 2021, up from a subscriber base of 477million in 2019. The African population is largely youthful and to keep these youth idle is to make them available for employment as instruments that foster activities which pose threat to local communities, like thuggery, insurgency and banditry. Most of these youngsters own a smartphone. These phones can access the internet and browse opportunities on freelance platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, etc.
GreyHobb is training young people on how to live online by first acquiring basic competences on digital literacy (IC3 standard), as well as developing freelance solutions that match menial job givers with job seekers. After training, trainees are linked to online freelance platforms and provided with access to mentorship. Some of the trained youth who emerge above expectation may be hired to also become mentors to others. This is a process that will be iterative until the result is in sight.
