Tooro Kingdom partners to equip 5,000 youth with digital skills

Tooro Kingdom, in partnership with Maarifaasa, a digital skilling firm, seeks to establish a digital impact hub aimed at empowering nearly 5,000 youth in the region with critical digital and entrepreneurial skills.

The collaboration, formalised through a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), is designed to address youth unemployment and foster economic independence within the kingdom.

Toro Kingdom Prime Minister Calvin Armstrong said the kingdom has a long-standing commitment to skilling youth.

He said the kingdom has already invested in building an ICT centre, which Maarifaasa will now furnish and operate.

He said this initiative is projected to provide digital skills to over 5,000 young people annually, totalling an estimated 25,000 over the initial five-year partnership period.

“This partnership is a bold step in positioning Tooro Kingdom as a digital powerhouse and leader in youth-centred innovation," he said during the MoU signing in Kampala last week.

A key aspect of this collaboration is Maarifaasa's learn to earn model, which ensures that young people are not charged for the training.

Instead, Maarifaasa’s revenue model is designed such that they only generate income once the trainees secure employment or business process sourcing contracts.

"Our end goal is that they should be able to apply these skills in ways that are economically productive,” Robert Bob Okello, CEO of Maarifasasa Limited, said.

“We won't charge them for the trainings in this case, but our goal is to invest in them the right skills so that once they start earning, through those employment contracts and the business process sourcing contracts that we'll be having and they'll be working on, that is how we are able to sustain and provide financial support for and make expansion of these kind of programs.”

The kingdom's contribution of the physical ICT center, without charging rent, significantly offsets what would otherwise be a major cost, according to Okello.

According to Okello, Maarifaasa's curriculum is tailored to market demand, focusing on skills such as digital marketing, graphics design, web development, AI engineering, among others.

Officials say these skills are not only practical but also geared towards enhancing the tourism sector, given Fort Portal's status as the country's tourism capital.