In this week’s episode of the ENGAUSA Podcast, host Engr. Mustapha Habu Ringim engages in a powerful conversation with Murtala Kawu Ringim, a young entrepreneur and proud graduate of ENGAUSA Global Tech Hub’s TVET training on Smartphone Repairs, Solar Energy Systems, CCTV, and Satellite Installations held in Ringim, Jigawa State.
This episode sheds light on how community-based and community-sponsored youth empowerment can serve as a powerful catalyst for sustainable wealth creation, job opportunities, and socioeconomic transformation. It also underscores how indigenous and homegrown skill-development initiatives, like those pioneered by ENGAUSA Hub, are effectively addressing the growing challenge of teeming youth restiveness—by turning potential frustration into innovation, productivity, and purpose.
About two years ago, Murtala was simply a phone seller when he heard about the “MAFITAR RINGIM” community-sponsored training programme, jointly funded by IGP (rtd.) Hafiz Abubakar Ringim and Justice Tijjani Garba Ringim. The initiative offered 50 young people in Ringim a life-changing opportunity to acquire competency-based skills in multiple trades under the ENGAUSA Hub programs, conducted at the NITDA-built Ringim Digital Skills Center (RDSC).
Over the course of six intensive weeks, participants underwent hands-on, locally relevant training in both hardware and software smartphone repairs, along with three other high-demand technical fields. Before this intervention, the local market had been flooded with amateur repairers who lacked the technical expertise to meet modern standards. The program changed that narrative by producing a new generation of competent, confident, and innovative technicians capable of delivering quality service and creating new economic value within their communities.
A key component of this empowerment initiative was the provision of sufficient starter kits to every trainee upon completion of the program—sponsored by generous Ringim philanthropists and community elites, whose support ensured that no graduate left empty-handed. These starter kits enabled the beneficiaries to immediately begin practising their trades, accelerating their journey toward self-reliance and entrepreneurship.
The graduation ceremony, held on 1st January 2024, was sponsored by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) under the visionary leadership of its Director General, Mal. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, CCIE. This gesture reinforced the agency’s ongoing commitment to promoting digital skills development, innovation, and inclusive empowerment across Nigeria.
For Murtala, the experience was nothing short of transformative. Reflecting on his journey, he shared how the training turned his life around within two years—expanding his business beyond phone sales to include professional repair services, while also training other youths within the Ringim community. His story exemplifies how grassroots empowerment can ignite a chain reaction of progress—creating jobs, restoring dignity, and inspiring others to take charge of their future.
At ENGAUSA Global Tech Hub, stories like Murtala’s embody our broader mission: to empower the underserved and marginalised through inclusive, community-based technical education. By integrating mother-tongue-based learning, innovation, and mentorship, ENGAUSA continues to nurture a generation of skilled, self-reliant, and socially responsible youth who are transforming Northern Nigeria—and, by extension, the nation—through skills, creativity, and enterprise.
A Call to Action
The MAFITAR RINGIM initiative proves that community-sponsored youth empowerment is not just charity—it is an investment in the future. When communities, philanthropists, and visionary institutions like NITDA collaborate to fund training, provide starter kits, and celebrate achievement, they create a sustainable ecosystem of opportunity that curbs unemployment, reduces restiveness, and fuels local development.
ENGAUSA Global Tech Hub invites individuals, community associations, corporate organizations, and government agencies to partner in replicating this success story across other localities. Together, we can build sustainable communities powered by skilled, confident, and innovative young people—because the true wealth of any nation lies in the potential of its youth.
For more information:
Website: www.EngausaHub.com.ng
Foundation: foundation.engausahub.com.ng
Phone (WhatsApp & Telegram): 07038224643
Email: [email protected]
