Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI) and Skill2Rural Bootcamp”, a skills incubator, have empowered 7550 young people in Nigeria with the support of over 100 volunteers across 7 states.

Recall that in September 2023, Hammed Kayode Alabi was one of the Nigerians selected to join the 2023–2024 Western Union Foundation Fellowship Cohort by the Watson Institute out of 2210 applications globally.

He was selected to scale his social venture and innovation “Kayode Alabi Leadership and Career Initiative (KLCI) and Skill2Rural Bootcamp”, a skills incubator, career pathway, and marketplace to help young people in underserved communities such as rural, slum, and internally displaced communities develop 21st-century skills needed for the workforce and the future of work. Through this boot camp, over 7,550 young people have been supported in Nigeria with the support of over 100 volunteers across 7 states.

Aside from working on his social venture, part of the fellowship also involves Hammed running a basecamp. Hammed observed that, despite 70% of the Nigerian population being young, there is a challenge in leveraging opportunities for personal and professional development because of a lack of storytelling skills.

Especially young changemakers, entrepreneurs, and activists who are working to serve their community through several social ventures and projects. Hence, he ran a storytelling basecamp funded by the Western Union Foundation through the Watson Institute and supported by KLCI and the American Corner Ikeja.

The KLCI base camp attracted over 240 applicants from Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Ghana, and 70+ attended or joined in person and virtually. The base camp was held between January 10th and 11th, 2024.

On the first day of the base camp, participants were introduced to the art of storytelling by Hammed Kayode Alabi. The facilitator shared strategies for storytelling to improve their personal brand and social impact ventures. They learned how to use the three-act structure and the Marshall Ganz Challenges, Choices, and Outcomes model to create a storytelling narrative. The key highlight was Hammed sharing, “If you do not do or work, you would not have a story to tell.”

Temi Badru, a LinkedIn Top Voice and award-winning international host, taught the participants how to leverage social media and storytelling for personal branding. She placed a huge emphasis on telling authentic stories on social media. She also mentioned what makes the difference for so many people and why people would invite you or do business with you based on your consistency and showing up. She said, “In consistency lies the power of storytelling.”

Day 2 of the power-packed storytelling basecamp included a panel session moderated by Oluwaseun Kayode, Founder and CEO of Schoolinka, and he was joined by Aramide Kayode, Founder and CEO of Talent Mine Academy, and Rt Hon. Dr. Azeezat Yishawu, a medical doctor and the first female speaker of the Nigerian Youth Parliament.

Aramide recounted her experience of her time as a teacher, fundraising to study at Havard, building a school in a low-income community, and the power of storytelling in achieving those milestones. She said, “When leveraging platforms, your small platform is a platform. Do quality work, local or global; you will be seen, but tell your story strategically.” Dr Azeezat amplified this by sharing that a good storyteller knows how to tell it, long or short. Same story and the same message.

Oluwaseun grounded us on the topic by sharing, “Let your story uplift and not downcast. It should leave beneficiaries better than when you met them.”

The day ended with 10 participants pre-selected before the boot camp to pitch for a $150 grant. They received feedback from the judges, and their peers voted for the best pitch. The winners of the pitch will be announced later in the week. Joseph Waribugo, one of the selected participants, shared the impact of the event on LinkedIn.

He said, “I used to struggle to tell my stories. I didn’t believe anyone wanted to hear it or how I could tell it better. But with this powerpack training, I am now confident about my storytelling skills. I would say this was two days of masterclass training. This is one of the shortest yet most powerful events I have attended.”

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