George, Dapo receive I4j grants

Messrs Aguwa George of Online Comics and Dapo Conde of NaijaCampus.com have emerged winners of N1 million grant each in the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG’s) Internet for Job (I4J) initiative.

The duo where presented with their grants at just concluded Investor’s Forum which held in Lagos.

A press statement from NIG indicated that the applicants for the grant had opportunity to present their proposals to a panel of judges made up of NIG Executive and information technology (IT) industry leaders in October this year also in Lagos.

“A total of fifty-five (55) applications were received, while thirty-seven (37) of them made presentations,” the official statement made available to ITRealms Online last weekend indicated.

Presenting the grant to the winners, the immediate past President, Nigeria Internet Group, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, urged them to ensure the success of their projects so that they could demonstrate to other Nigerians that jobs could really be created using the Internet.

He recalled that the Internet for Job (I4J) Initiative is a programme designed by the group to explore the potential of the Internet to create jobs for the people and transform the nation into a knowledge society.

The Initiative, he said, was launched at a colourful event in Lagos on July 12, 2007 by then Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe and the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Professor Cleopas Angaye.

Ajayi went on to state that the objectives of the I4J Initiative comprise creating of Internet entrepreneurs, positive engagement of Nigerian youths, thereby diverting their attention away from anti-social activities, and to serve as a bridge to the digital divide between Nigeria and the developed countries.

Additionally, he said that I4J is to create local Internet content, accelerate Nigerian’s transformation to knowledge society, and kick start a “Dotcom” boom in Nigeria.

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