Seal of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Capacity Development Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Capacity Development Capacity Development Training Initiative

Training tracks

Three streams, five subject units each

A participant holds a place in one stream only. Every stream runs to the same ten-day schedule: a guided week online, two days of practice at the centre in Lafia, and the closing day.

Choose a stream

The three streams

They are drawn from the five the initiative has previously delivered. Choose the one that matches the work you actually intend to do.

Agriculture

Agriculture Skills

A guided week online on the range of agricultural opportunities across the North Central zone — crops, livestock, poultry, fish and processing — then two days at the centre turning modern and traditional techniques into real, usable skills on the value chains Nasarawa produces at scale.

Priority is given to

  • Priority to practising smallholder farmers
  • Members of registered cooperatives
  • Young people with demonstrable access to farmland
700 places One week online, then two days at the centre

Digital

Digital Skills

A guided week online, phone-first and built for an ordinary smartphone: social media for income, finding opportunities online, and using AI tools for ideation, research and learning — then two days at the centre turning that foundation into a marketable specialisation.

Priority is given to

  • Priority to youth with basic literacy
  • A demonstrated intent to work in or through digital channels
  • A smartphone with mobile data; prior computer experience is not required
400 places One week online, then two days at the centre

Business Development

Business Development Skills

How to identify, ideate and execute a business: the common mistakes that sink new enterprises, how to learn and start rather than wait for perfect conditions, and using AI tools for market research and competitor analysis — built on the evidence that training which builds proactive initiative and simplifies financial practice into usable rules produces substantially larger gains than a conventional classroom course.

Priority is given to

  • Priority to existing micro-enterprise operators, market traders and artisans with a trading activity
  • Cooperative members with a demonstrated business idea
  • Applicants not already selected for another stream, so that the 1,500 are 1,500 distinct individuals
400 places One week online, then two days at the centre

Syllabus and schedule

How five units fit into ten days

Every syllabus on this programme is built the same way, so a participant on any stream knows exactly what is taught where.

  1. 7–13 September 2026 Online, on this platform

    Units one to three

    The foundations of the stream are delivered over the guided week, with facilitated sessions and short assignments. Places in the physical classes in Lafia on 14 to 16 September 2026 are given by performance in the online week.

  2. 14–15 September 2026 At the centre in Lafia

    Units four and five

    For those selected, the applied units are taught in person across the two days on site, ending in supervised practical work and the competency assessment against which certification is issued.

  3. 16 September 2026 Closing day

    Pitch, awards and graduation

    Every participant who completes the programme presents their business at the closing pitch and may be supported. At the end of the programme, the top participants are supported with a ₦3,000,000 grant and a job opportunity.

Comparison

The three streams side by side

Places, delivery and what follows the training, for each stream.

All three streams run to the same dates, with physical classes at one centre in Lafia for those selected.
Stream Places Delivery Enablement after training
Agriculture Skills 700 One week online, then two days at the centre Ten producer clusters, each receiving a shared solar irrigation kit with basic implements and input support.
Digital Skills 400 One week online, then two days at the centre Graduates who complete the guided week online and pass the final assessment are connected to freelance and remote-work opportunities identified during the course, on assessed merit.
Business Development Skills 400 One week online, then two days at the centre Merit-awarded working-asset packages specified against the graduate’s assessed plan, cluster savings and lending groups constituted before graduation, and targeted formalisation support for graduates whose plan requires registration.