Precious Azuonwu, 23-year-old Nigerian Entrepreneur started Bankable Wisdom In 2020 – a workforce development agency focused on helping young people in Africa access tech skills, jobs and opportunities.
Of Africa’s 400 million youth aged 15-35, one third are unemployed and discouraged, another third are vulnerable in employment and only one in six is in wage unemployment as reported by African Development Bank.
The problem of extreme poverty and unemployment must be dealt with as it affects Africa’s socio-economic growth as well as social peace. This is why Precious Azuonwu, 23-year-old Nigerian Entrepreneur started Bankable Wisdom in 2020.
“I discovered there is a lot of segregation in Africa. I grew up with a very poor background and it was difficult to have the relevant skills that mattered in the 21st century, such as digital marketing, coding and design. Many young people lack jobs, skills and platforms to find opportunities. I started Bankable Wisdom as an answer to the cry of these young people. They can access online skills.”
Azuonwu said Bankable Wisdom is a workforce development agency dedicated to solving the problem of extreme poverty and unemployment among African youths by empowering young people with technological skills via It’s E-learning center as well as providing skilled job seekers with quality jobs to connect
“When I started my technology journey, I couldn’t afford a laptop. I shared my brother’s laptop. Prince Azuonwu and I attended all technology gatherings through my University, Rivers State University in 2014-2015. I sharpened my digital marketing skills via Youth Project Nigeria. A 4 day physical training, back in 2016, organized by Paul Omogie.
“We had the presence of the CEO of Slatecube – Chris Kwekowe. I majored in digital marketing for small and medium scale businesses. I ran Facebook and Instagram ads for small and medium-sized businesses. I started Bankable Wisdom with zero capital in 2020. I received my first funding as a gift from my favorite online student, Gideon Tladi.”
Azuonwu said he was 23 years old when he founded Bankable Wisdom in 2020 and it was a response to the dire needs of youths looking for African platforms to learn tech skills as well as digital skills for free.
He explained that during Covid-19, many of his friends reached out to him about learning tech skills and he decided to organize a free training for them known as Financial Fitness Bootcamp, which was practically done and more than 1,100 had attendees from Nigeria, South. Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroon and Namibia.
He then went on to organize another program known as Seven Days of Bankable Wisdom. “I charged $5 and after running the program seven times, I got the vision to start Bankable Wisdom. I was scared at first and I shared the idea with some of my favorite online students. On November 1, 2020, Gladi Tladi, one of my favorite students, decided to sponsor our website creation with $300.”
In its 21 months of operation, the company averaged 20,000 monthly website visits, he said.
Also read: Ingressive For Good: Accelerating growth in African tech industry
They have 5000 users from more than 23 countries (about 18 African countries apart from the United Arab Emirates, India, the United States, the United Kingdom and England). They have about 1500 Nigerian users on our platform.
According to Azuonwu, Bankable Wisdom has been self-funded for the past 20 months.
Due to the impact of the project, Azuonwu was at 24 semi-feminist of the Savvy Fellow Change Makers Award. In 2020/2021, Azuonwu was highly recommended to The Tony Elemulu Foundation as a potential mentor; he served as one of the youngest mentors/coaches for the 2021 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program in the Disruptor category.
Azuonwu’s startup, Bankable Wisdom, has so far offered free virtual training on all tech skills to 500 youth and students. The company also launched a Minimum Viable Product known as Bankable, which contains 18 technological skills such as NFT, MetaVerse, Crypto, UI/UX Design, Motion Graphics, Graphic Design, Freelancing, Digital Marketing, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, Forex Trading , Affiliate Marketing, Java Scripts, HTML, Front End and Back End Development (Web Design), Amazon KDP Publishing and much more.
“We also facilitate physical training for individuals who want these skills, as well as training for organizations!
“We gave a 90 percent discount to students, for only $20 they have access to all these skills and certifications. And also join our weekly training weekly. We will virtually coach them to master their tech skills and banking tech jobs.
“We have over 1000+ users from Nigeria and we are determined to partner with as many organizations as possible to reach up to 100,000 Nigerians as well as African students. We also offer part-internship and work opportunities with students,” he said.
He said they are determined to grant scholarships to make it completely free for them, adding that this is what they are doing to help Nigerian youths as well as Africans to be economically empowered despite a failed education system.
“We have taken the ABCD to digital skills. A means that we have accepted that it is our responsibility to help young people in Africa to have access to technological skills. B means we believe that by empowering young people in Africa with technological skills, they can overcome extreme poverty and unemployment in Africa. C means that we are committed daily to the goal of empowering African youth with technological skills, jobs and opportunities. D means we will deliver the future (dreams and aspirations) by helping them live out their full potential through technological skills, jobs and opportunities,” he explained.
