Chibueze Ukaegbu, Coordinator - Abia TechRise, shares the story of Shalom Rayhamen, the Creator of Lagos Life.
1) I am a proud father today. The young woman behind Lagos Life, the phenomenal game that pulled in over 2 million players in its first days, started her tech journey in our nondescript training room in Aba, Abia Her name is Shalom. This is her story & ours. This is a thread
2) April 30, 2018. LearnFactory opened the doors of a free 6-month software internship in Aba. No tuition. No catch. 20 young people walked in from across Nigeria. 12 finished. The youngest of them all was a girl just out of secondary school.
3) We called her "the last baby." Life was not gentle with her at that time. She was carrying more than a girl her age should have to carry. She never brought it to class as an excuse. She locked in on the programme and gave it everything.
4) Day in, day out, she showed up. She ran the 100 Days of Code challenge without flinching. She asked questions until the answers ran out, then went looking for more. She was my little daughter in that room, and I watched her refuse to quit.
5) Oct 2018 - the internship ended. Her journey didn't. She kept teaching herself. Took small jobs. Wrote a book. Landed remote work. Earned a UK Global Talent Visa in 2023. Then on October 1, 2026, she built Lagos Life overnight & tweeted the link at 7am. By 10am it was trending
6) Over 2 million players in days. Brands buying billboards inside a virtual Lagos. A whole country arguing about rent in a game. Built by a girl who started in Aba with hunger and a place that let her learn. That last part is why I am writing this.
7) LearnFactory stands on three things: training, tools, and an environment where young people can learn, innovate & grow. In 2018, a free tech program like ours was the first of its kind in the South-East. People asked how we would survive giving it away. We gave it away anyway.
It started with children. From 2015 to 2019 we taught coding to over 13,500 pupils, 200 teachers and 35 schools (public & private) in Abia. In 2018, Google named us one of 12 finalists, out of more than 2,000 organisations, in the first Google Impact Challenge.
9) We launched the LearnFactory Internship. 2018 v1: April 30 - Oct 30, 2018. 20 interns 2019 v1: April 15 - Oct 30, 2019. 12 interns 2019 v2: July 15 - Dec 30, 2019. 22 interns 2019 v3: Oct 1, 2019 - March 15, 2020. 26 interns 2020 Lockdown Cohort: May - Nov 2020. 20 interns
10) Then Imo: In September 2019 we launched CodeIMO, with the Commissioner for Technology Development, Sir Meekam Mgbemelu CodeIMO had a mandate to train 34,000 Imo youth in core technology skills. CodeIMO halted in January 2020 with the removal of Rt Hon Ihedioha as Imo Governor
11) One of the organisers of the NCC Tech Event in Owerri, where CodeIMO was launched, was Dr Chimezie Amadi, a director at the NCC Abuja. Dr Chimezie became the pioneer Commissioner for Imo State Ministry Of Digital Economy & e-Government under His Excellency, Sen. Hope Uzodinma
12) Working with Hon. Commissioner, Dr Chimezie Amadi, SkillUp Imo was created to train 100,000 Imo youth in digital skills of software development, blockchain & other technical vocational skills. In Sept 2022, Cohort 1 launched with 5,000 participants, while Cohort 2 had 15,000
- Then in February 2023, in celebration of the 58th birthday of His Excellency, we launched the free 4-month Dr Alex Otti Tech Fellowship, an extension of our LearnFactory Internship, to prepare the Abian youth as industry ready 21st century tech professionals.
- From May 2023 to June 2024, we ran 3 cohorts, training a total of 165 people
Cohort 1: (May 2023) - 40 Interns Cohort 2: (August 2023) - 70 Interns Cohort 3: (February 2024) - 55 Interns
15) In 2024: we received a grant in the IDEAS Project with the Federal Ministry of Education and the World Bank to train 1,000 developers - LTD1500 was born Cohort 1 trained 513 developers in Aba, with free accommodation & breakfast Each one taught us something for what came next
- Sept 2024 - Launched a digital skills training for 380 youth at Nvosi, championed by the Hon. Commissioner for Youth & Sports Development, Sir Nwaobilor Ananaba in partnership with distinguished Senator Darlington Nwokocha - who gave his CBT center for the 3-months training.
17) January 2, 2025. A meeting in the office of Prince Uzor Nwachukwu, Commissioner for Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs. The foundation for TechRise was laid that day: a plan to empower Abia Youths with cutting-edge digital skills for the 21st Century global economy
- A meeting at Roots Umuahia: Prince Uzor Nwachukwu (Commissioner - Local Government & Chieftaincy Affairs), Sir Nwaobilor Ananaba (Commissioner - Youth & Sports), Mr David Kalu (Commissioner - Science, Tech & Innovation), Mr Chinedu Ekeke (Chairman ALGON & Mayor Isuikwuato)
19) Mr Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu (Principal Secretary to the Governor & Chief Strategy Officer for Abia State) and myself TechRise was born that day: the Abia State Government and the 17 LG Mayors, with LearnFactory.
20) 2,210 youth trained in 20 months: Cohort 1: Feb 10 - May 10, 2025 (510) Cohort 2: Sept 30 - Dec 20, 2025 (850) Cohort 3: May 20 - August 20, 2026 (850)
Not in Lagos. Not in Abuja. Right here in Aba, Abia.
Each got a laptop, accommodation, 3 meals daily, internet, stipends
21) The top students from each Cohort went straight into the Abia State Civil Service: 19, 50 & 19 from Cohort 1, 2 & 3 each. And they are already building - Cohort 3's CAD & CAM class demoed a working agricultural drone and robotic car at the graduation. Amongst others
22) Cohort 2 built on Cohort 1 and went 10x. Cohort 3 took that and went 100x. Cohort 4 is the game changer. Bigger. Better. Way beyond expectation. The plans are cooking. The Cohort 4 waitlist is live. Join & we will tell you the moment applications open abiatechrise.ng
- None of this happened without His Excellency, Dr Alex Otti, OFR - the Moses sent to Abia
He initiated the vision, believed in us to execute & opened this door for youth to change their lives
Your Excellency, thank you. We are sowing now. The reaping comes with great harvest
- My heart-felt thanks to 3 exceptional men: Mr Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Prince Uzor Nwachukwu & Mr Chinedu Ekeke - they laid the foundation that made this possible.
My sincere thanks also to the 17 Mayors of Abia State, who carry this programme on their shoulders.
25) Shalom started one ordinary morning in 2018, the youngest in the room, hungry to learn Look at her now Somewhere in Abia today is the next Shalom. If that is you, your first morning is waiting @Shalom_HeyEliy, your LearnFactory family is proud of you. I am proud of you. Soar
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