Imo Govt Partners US to Empower 100,000 Youths

Imo State government, University of California, Berkeley, and the US Market Access Centre have entered into a strategic partnership that will lead to placement of 100,000 Imo trained technology professionals in paid global roles by 2026.

Part of the partnership is the launch of ImoTalentHub.com, the first of its kind digital talent marketplace in Africa, a platform that connects the state’s rapidly growing ranks of software engineers, data scientists and designers with employers in Lagos, London, Dubai, Silicon Valley and other innovation hubs worldwide.

The Imo government’s Skill Up Imo initiative is the ambitious programme launched by Governor Hope Uzodimma to move the state from analogue thinking to a fully digital economy and steer young people away from cultism and internet fraud.

Introduced in 2022, the initiative has already graduated more than 40 000 learners through intensive courses in software development, artificial intelligence (AI), cyber security and user experience design, creating one of Nigeria’s largest and most capable talent pools. ImoTalentHub now turns that classroom success into real employment by giving every graduate a verified profile, a portfolio showcase and access to one click smart contracts that manage KYC checks, escrow payments and tax compliance.

A fintech company in Shoreditch can therefore hire a back-end engineer in Owerri as quickly and securely as it might recruit in London, paying in pounds or dollars through fully regulated channels and proving that Imo’s digital youth are ready to compete on the world stage.

The intellectual power behind the curriculum comes from the Sutardja Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at UC Berkeley. Berkeley professors have led boot camps on venture funding and ethical AI, helped equip cloud laboratories powered by NVIDIA GPUs at the new Imo Digital City campus and are creating a Founder Development Programme that offers venture-capital access alongside Berkeley certification. Graduates emerge with practical, enterprise-ready skills and an immediate pathway into Imo’s start-up pipeline.

Governor Uzodimma sees the initiative as a decisive pivot away from a resource-based economy. “Imo is moving decisively from an analogue economy to a digital future. By partnering with the University of California and the US Market Access Center we are giving our young people the skills, networks and confidence to launch world-class start-ups right here in Owerri. Our goal is to empower 300,000 residents over the next five years and link Imo’s tech ecosystem to global markets,” he said.

Also speaking, Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr Chimezie Amadi, said data generated by the hub will inform smarter policy, stimulate foreign earnings and demonstrate Nigeria’s capacity to export high-value knowledge at scale.

Managing Director of the US Market Access Center, Chris Burry, is equally emphatic. “We see in Imo the talent and determination that built Silicon Valley. Working alongside UC Berkeley and the state government, we will mentor the next generation of founders who can deliver solutions for Nigeria, Africa and the wider world,” he said.

ImoTalentHub offers AI-driven search across different stacks and is gradually rolling out contracting with escrow protection, real-time earnings dashboards, an employer API for bulk recruitment and a community space for mentoring and collaborative projects. The state publishes anonymised hiring and earnings data, giving investors and development partners a transparent measure of impact.

Officials project that ImoTalentHub will lift youth employment, increase foreign remittances and pull the diaspora back into active participation. Global employers that struggle to find software talent now gain a pipeline of Berkeley certified engineers and data scientists who combine world class practice with competitive Nigerian rates. 

Local companies based in Owerri and other Imo cities can partner with the government through sponsored apprenticeships and joint laboratories, while firms elsewhere in Nigeria and across Africa can open remote teams on the platform and tap the same talent without relocation costs. Indigenes of Imo living in London, Houston or Johannesburg are invited to register as hiring partners, mentors or angel investors, ensuring that the state’s success story remains a true community project.

Skill Up Imo stays free to residents and continues to expand its catalogue in collaboration with UC Berkeley adding tracks in blockchain, health tech and climate data analytics over the next year. ImoTalentHub’s goal is to become Africa’s largest state backed talent directory, proving that the region’s most valuable export is no longer oil or cassava but human capital. With support from multinational employers, local industry and a global diaspora Governor Uzodimma intends to position Owerri not only as the digital capital of Southeast Nigeria but as a leading innovation hub for the whole continent.