Digital Skill: Imo Partners California Varsity To Train 100,000 Youths

Imo state Governor Hope Uzodimma in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, and the US Market Access Center, has unveiled ImoTalentHub.com, a marketplace designed to connect Imo State’s emerging tech workforce with global job opportunities.

The initiative targets the placement of 100,000 young, digitally trained professionals into paid roles across major innovation hubs by 2026. The platform is the latest phase of Skill Up Imo, Uzodimma’s flagship initiative launched in 2022 to transition the state into a digital economy. So far, the programme has trained over 40,000 youths in critical areas such as software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and user experience (UX) design.

ImoTalentHub offers youths a verified online profile, a digital portfolio, and access to tools such as smart contracts for seamless hiring, Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, escrow payments, and tax compliance.

Uzodimma describing the initiative as a decisive pivot away from a resource-based economy, said, “Imo is moving decisively from an analogue economy to a digital future. By partnering with the University of California and the US Market Access Center we are giving our young people the skills, networks and confidence to launch world-class start-ups right here in Owerri. Our goal is to empower 300,000 residents over the next five years and link Imo’s tech ecosystem to global markets.”

On his part, Imo state Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr Chimezie Amadi, noted that data generated by the hub would inform smarter policy, stimulate foreign earnings and demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity to export high-value knowledge at scale.

The Managing director of the US Market Access Center, Chris Burry, said “we see in Imo the talent and determination that built Silicon Valley. Working alongside UC Berkeley and the state government, we will mentor the next generation of founders who can deliver solutions for Nigeria, Africa and the wider world.”

The academic backbone of the programme comes from UC Berkeley’s Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, which has helped design the curriculum, equipped Imo’s new cloud labs powered by NVIDIA GPUs, and is developing a Founder Development Programme. The Berkeley partnership also offers venture capital access and globally recognised certifications.