JCI Empowers 500 Northern Youths With AI, Leadership Skills

The Junior Chamber International (JCI) Nigeria has empowered over 500 youths with artificial intelligence, technology, entrepreneurship and leadership skills.

During the 2025 JCI Nigeria Northern Conference, tagged “Daukaka Arewa,” the youths were also mentored in different aspects of life to make them productive and self-reliant.

Speaking during the programme held in Abuja yesterday, the executive vice president of Northwest, Akinwande Ayodeji, said they gathered information from various communities on the kind of empowerment the youths need before organising the programme.

“We always think about how to empower the communities. So, we have been working on developing leaders whose influence would be in the field. The Daukaka Arewa project is to empower youths in the north.

“We are deliberate about inclusion. In the past seven months, we have had 60 projects. All around the North, including a campaign against drug abuse,” he said, adding that about 500 youths have been trained.

The JCI Nigeria national president, Oluwatoyin Atanda, said the gathering was for people across the Northern region of Nigeria, adding that they are established in over 100 countries and focus on empowering young people to explore and grow their businesses and entrepreneurship.

“In Nigeria, we have 20,000 members apart from the students. Our message is simple. For the youth not to depend solely on what the government can do, but rather on how they can develop and inspire young people to be leaders.

“In the JCI action framework, we believed that when we have better individuals, we will have better community, better countries and a better world.

“We ask questions about the needs of the community and how we can be of help and provide solutions.

“Over 500 of our members have been empowered in AI, leadership, community leadership, entrepreneurship, animation production and other training in technology in collaboration with Microsoft,” she said.

For her part, host president of JCI Abuja Prestige Fatimat Omowale Usman said they are creating more chapters to look inward and help society.

She said, “We have trained youths in tech and partnered with Microsoft. Over 5,000 people have been trained. Every year, we recognise young talents in Nigeria, and in this area, over 600 young people have been recognised just this year,” she added.