The Remarkable Journey of Microsoft Communities in Northern Nigeria
In 2019, a staggering statistic from the World Bank revealed that 87% of Nigeria's impoverished population resided in the North. Motivated by this alarming reality, Hriscare International Foundation, a local NGO in Northern Nigeria, embarked on a mission to combat poverty. Fortuitously, during the Microsoft Certified Trainer West Africa boot camp in Abuja that same year, Tabitha Hris, the founder of Hriscare International Foundation, and Collins Ajonye, CEO of GovirtualAfrica, were introduced to the Microsoft Certified Trainers West Africa Bootcamp which was held in Abuja . This encounter highlighted the absence of an active Microsoft community in Northern Nigeria. Guided by Mr. Seyi Oluwawujumi and Mr. Ayodeji Folarin, Tabitha Hris and Collins Ajonye resolved to establish the Northern Microsoft Community. In 2021, Hriscare International Foundation initiated a program called Techprenuer's Ignite with Microsoft, launching the first project in Jos, Plateau State. This initiative led to the creation of the Jos Microsoft Community, followed by the Abuja Microsoft Community. These communities actively work towards replication in other Northern states. GovirtualAfrica partnered with Hriscare Foundation, providing co-working spaces and halls for training sessions in Jos , Plateau State while Fulcrum iLab in Abuja extended their facilities to support the Abuja Microsoft Community. Over the past year, since the establishment of the Microsoft Communities in Northern Nigeria, facilitated by Hriscare International Foundation, numerous success stories have emerged. Each community comprises Students Communities, Women Communities , and General group (Professionals , Students and others), fostering inclusive participation. Remarkably, the Northern Microsoft Community has already produced the region's first Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (Tabitha Hris) and Five Microsoft Learn Student Ambassadors (Panshak Koproda, Joshua Dakim, Paul Umaru, Christiana Hris, and Nyipoji Jibarang), solidifying their pioneering status in Northern Nigeria. Earlier this year, Hriscare International Foundation took a step towards inclusivity by including visually impaired individuals in the Jos Microsoft Community. One standout participant was Kefas Lungu, a visually impaired student at the University of Jos. Within two months of joining the community, Kefas achieved remarkable success. He was the first to complete the Microsoft Student Skills Summit challenge, a task created by Microsoft for the global summit's after-party in March. Additionally, he developed a powerful solution using Power Automate. Inspired to streamline his daily tasks, Kefas Lungu , a visually impaired University of Jos student who created and presented a powerful solution at the just concluded Global Power Platform Bootcamp 2023 in Jos . He joined Jos Microsoft Community two months ago and has been on fire! Kefas automated a tool that checks for operating system updates, installs pending updates, removes unnecessary files, and scans for damaged system files. This tool proved invaluable, saving him significant time and ensuring the optimal performance of his system. Hi, my name is Kefas James Lungu, a 300-level student of history and international studies university of JOS. I’m a visually Impaired person from Adamawa state Nigeria. I’m a python and C developer who in February attended a Microsoft event in Jos, and picked interest and I decided to take the challenge during the Microsoft Student Summit and was able to finish within 2 days, becoming the first person to finish the challenge. After the Event, I was inspired to use power automate to automate one of those tasks I do often. I didn’t want it to be too complex, so I automated a tool that checks for operating system update instead of doing it manually, checks and automatically install all pending updates on the system, removes junks and other unnecessary files from the computer. Then, it will proceed to scan your system for damaged or missing any operating system files, and fix them all. Before now, I had to do these things manually, and depending on your number of apps, it can be very time consuming, given that different apps have separate ways of checking for updates. Plus, you must do these tasks as much as necessary to prevent operating system malfunctioning, and with the rising cyber threats, it is always advisable to keep all your apps up to date. And that is where the tool come in handy. My desktop flow was highly inspired by this tool. Apart from this, I sometimes practice coding with leetcode to enhance my coding skills. One of the major challenges I fazed during my tech journey and still facing is having to deal with inaccessible infrastructures. My next target is to build a bott with the power virtual agent, but I don’t know when that will be. The Northern Microsoft Community in Nigeria is witnessing a substantial shift in the adoption of Microsoft tools, leading to improved employment prospects for its members. Although there is still progress to be made, the community acknowledges the positive strides they have taken. By embracing the latest Microsoft technologies and fostering innovation tailored to their unique needs, they believe it is possible to eradicate poverty in Northern Nigeria.
