AfroTechxcel submits child-centred AI policy to NITDA, FCT, trains 772 girls

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BUSINESS AllAgricEconomyEnergyMoney & Markets BUSINESS AfroTechxcel submits child-centred AI policy to NITDA, FCT, trains 772 girls

FCT Customs inspects airline catering firms to strengthen aviation compliance

Domestic refiners receive 127m barrels of Nigerian crude in nine months– NUPRC

Six years after EndSARS NEPZA demands justice over Tinapa looting

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AfroTechxcel submits child-centred AI policy to NITDA, FCT, trains 772 girls

FCT Customs inspects airline catering firms to strengthen aviation compliance

INEC probes suspected AI-generated photos in voters’ register

Pressure grows on Sage as fans turn on Palace boss

Serie A: Inter rally late to beat Fiorentina 2-1 after comeback

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HomeBUSINESSAfroTechxcel submits child-centred AI policy to NITDA, FCT, trains 772 girls BUSINESSNIGERIATECH AfroTechxcel submits child-centred AI policy to NITDA, FCT, trains 772 girls By Godfrey Akon October 28, 2026 0 Share FacebookTwitterPinterestWhatsApp A Nigerian Technology-driven initiative, AfroTechxcel, has submitted a policy memorandum on child-centred Artificial Intelligence, AI, education to the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Secondary Education Board, to enhance inclusive and child-safe integration of AI into Nigerian schools.

Afrotechxcel also showcased AI-powered projects developed by secondary school girls from 16 government schools across the FCT, with solutions addressing healthcare, digital safety, education, civic engagement and climate resilience.

While addressing participants at the AI for Her Showcase 2026 at Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday, AfroTechxcel’s Founder and Executive Director, Emerald Akhaumere, said the programme had onboarded more than 772 girls, who completed thousands of learning activities and developed more than 700 projects.

According to Akhaumere, the learners completed 8,301 learning activities, made 1,138 quiz attempts and recorded an average performance of 73 per cent against a progression requirement of 70 per cent.

She disclosed that their projects also received more than 4,980 rounds of feedback from human mentors.

Akhaumere explained that the initiative was designed to equip girls with both technical and leadership skills while enabling them to develop solutions to challenges within their communities.

On the policy memorandum submitted to NITDA and the FCT Secondary Education Board, she said the proposal was intended to support the responsible integration of AI into schools through teacher training, affordable access, improved learning quality and child protection.

“Teachers must be equipped to use AI to strengthen their teaching, not have their professional judgement replaced by a tool,” she said.

She added that students should be able to demonstrate their understanding independently of AI tools, while teachers should be adequately prepared to guide their use.

“We are not handing over a complaint. We are presenting a tested model, our own evidence, and a costed proposal to demonstrate what is possible in schools that already exist,” she said.

Akhaumere expressed optimism that stronger collaboration with government agencies, civil society organisations and development partners would help extend the programme to more schools and provide more Nigerian girls with opportunities to participate in the digital economy.

Reflecting on her connection to Model Secondary School Maitama, where she was once a student, she said her experience had shaped her commitment to expanding opportunities for young girls.

“This is my school. I sat in this compound, wore this uniform, and walked these corridors without knowing what I would become,” she said.

She recalled that the International Award for Young People introduced her to the human side of leadership, while her early exposure to technology helped shape her professional journey.

“Human skills and technical skills. In the same school, at the same time. Everything I have built since has been an attempt to give other girls both,” she added.

Akhaumere said the programme deliberately moved away from simply importing technology curricula designed for different social and economic environments, insisting that digital education must reflect the realities of Nigerian learners.

“Too often, we take curricula designed elsewhere, for children living in entirely different circumstances, and place them in Nigerian classrooms as though context is a detail. It is not a detail. It is fundamental.

“A girl in Mpape needs the tools to understand and solve the problems around her, not simply the problems somebody else has chosen for her,” she said.

She disclosed that the girls had developed solutions across several sectors, with more than one-third of the projects focused on digital innovation, including AI classifiers, WhatsApp community bots and school registries.

Nearly 30 per cent addressed healthcare challenges, including menstrual and maternal health, while almost one-fifth focused on safety, consent and digital rights.

Other projects explored climate-related challenges through flood alerts and agricultural tracking tools.

According to her, the learners were not merely completing classroom assignments but developing solutions with potential practical applications.

Earlier in an interview, Akhaumere explained that the showcase marked a transition from introductory AI training to project development, testing and plans for real-world adoption.

“Last time, in March, we were introducing the girls to AI at the root phase. Now they have undergone that, and they are presenting their projects in full,” she said.

She added that participants had developed financial projections and user-adoption plans, while their solutions had been tested with users.

Akhaumere said the projects were aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), allowing participants to connect social challenges with opportunities for investment, partnerships and sustainable impact.

She urged the government and other stakeholders to prioritise digital skills education that responds to the needs of learners rather than relying on generic curricula.

“Digital skills are important, but they must meet the girls where they are, not where we think they are, in order to create impact,” she said.

Akhaumere said AfroTechxcel was also developing learning hubs, beginning with a facility in Lugbe, to expand access to practical digital education, with Mpape expected to follow.

She said the initiative was working with partners to create internship and practical work opportunities for girls and women completing its programmes, stressing that digital education should translate into meaningful economic opportunities.

“A certificate alone does not change someone’s income,” she said, explaining that the programme was developing pathways into entrepreneurship, freelancing, education and advocacy.

Also speaking at the event, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Director of IT Infrastructure and Solutions, Oladejo Olawumi, commended the initiative for promoting early technology education and encouraging young people to develop solutions to local challenges.

Olawumi said the girls were active participants in Nigeria’s digital transformation and should not be treated merely as recipients of technologies developed elsewhere.

“You are not here as spectators to a conversation about the future of Nigeria’s digital economy. You are in the conversation. You are part of the answer,” he said.

He particularly praised participants who had developed offline solutions to address connectivity challenges in public schools, describing such innovations as appropriate responses to local realities.

“This is not a lesser kind of technology. That is the right kind. A solution designed for a Nigerian community by someone who lives in it will always understand the problem better than one adapted from somewhere else,” he said.

Olawumi said the initiative’s use of verifiable learning records demonstrated the importance of evidence-based approaches to digital education.

He also highlighted Nigeria’s national digital literacy ambitions of achieving 70 per cent literacy by 2027 and 95 per cent by 2030.

He called for collaboration between NITDA’s digital literacy programmes and AfroTechxcel’s school-based approach, noting that both could contribute to expanding digital skills across the country.

The NITDA representative further encouraged participants to explore opportunities under the agency’s innovation support programmes, including the iHatch incubation programme and provisions of the Nigeria Startup Act.

He, however, reminded the girls that technological innovation must be accompanied by responsibility, particularly in protecting users’ information and ensuring safe digital experiences.

“Building technology carries responsibility. Whatever you create will touch other people, their data, their trust, sometimes their safety,” he said.

He added that standards, safeguarding and data protection must remain central to technology development, regardless of whether the innovators are students or established companies.

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