Connect with us
Empowering Underserved Youth and Communities Through Inclusive Education, Digital Skills, and Gender Justice in Nigeria
Smart Aid Initiative was founded in 2020 in response to the intersecting humanitarian, social, and governance challenges facing Northern Nigeria. At the time, communities across Kaduna and Zamfara States were grappling with armed conflict, displacement, poverty, gender-based violence, school disruptions, and growing digital exclusion. Young people, especially young women and persons with disabilities, were disproportionately affected, yet remained largely excluded from recovery, opportunity, and decision-making processes.
As a youth-led civil society organisation, Smart Aid Initiative emerged from the conviction that communities living through crisis are not passive beneficiaries of aid, but essential drivers of solutions. Our earliest interventions focused on conflict-prone and underserved communities, where insecurity and humanitarian pressures had weakened access to education, safe civic spaces, and reliable information. We saw how emergencies did more than damage infrastructure, they silenced voices, pushed girls out of school, limited youth participation, and exposed communities to misinformation and digital harm.
Our work evolved to combine humanitarian sensitivity with long-term resilience building. In Zamfara and Kaduna, we partnered with schools, grassroots organisations, community leaders, and public institutions to deliver inclusive education, digital skills, and rights awareness. Through initiatives such as DigitSkills4All, supported by UNICEF and IDGA, we trained young people. many from conflict-affected settings, in digital and AI skills that opened pathways to livelihoods and safer digital engagement.
With support from our partners, we expanded into gender justice, safeguarding, and ethical technology. Projects like Jiki Na, Haki Na addressed harmful practices such as Female Genital Mutilation through community mobilisation and digital advocacy, while Equal-TES strengthened educators and young people's capacity to integrate ethical technology and AI responsibly within schools. Across these efforts, we worked to ensure that the humanitarian response was not only about survival, but about dignity, agency, and long-term inclusion.
To date, Smart Aid Initiative has directly reached over 14,981 people across 96 communities accross Northern Nigeria more broadly. Our programmes span digital inclusion, youth civic engagement, online safety, gender equity, and institutional strengthening, always prioritising communities affected by conflict, poverty, and shrinking civic space. Today, our work continues to centre young people living in fragile and conflict-affected contexts, supporting them not only to recover from crisis, but to participate safely, lead confidently, and shape the systems that affect their lives.
14,000+
People Reached
96
Communities Reached
4,721
Young People Trained
45,000+
Social Media Engagements
Activity report 2024Our Approach
Capacity Building
We invest in people as agents of change. Our capacity-building approach focuses on equipping young people, women, educators, and community actors with practical skills, knowledge, and confidence to improve livelihoods, promote rights, and respond to community challenges. Through training, mentorship, and learning-by-doing, we strengthen individual and institutional capacity in areas such as inclusive education, digital skills, safeguarding, gender justice, and civic participation.
Policy Advocacy
We work to change systems, not just symptoms. Our policy advocacy is grounded in community evidence and lived experiences, ensuring that policies and reforms reflect the realities of underserved communities. We engage decision-makers, contribute to policy dialogues, and support youth-led advocacy efforts to influence laws, institutional practices, and public systems related to education, digital inclusion, gender equity, and social protection.
Stakeholder & Community Engagement
We believe sustainable change happens when communities lead and stakeholders collaborate. We work closely with community leaders, youth groups, schools, community based organisations, and public institutions to co-design, implement, and monitor solutions. By centring local voices and building trust, we ensure our interventions are culturally relevant, inclusive, and owned by the communities they serve.
Our Mission
To empower underserved communities by advocating for inclusive education, promoting gender and digital equity, and building young people's capacity through policy reform, technology, and grassroots innovation for sustainable development.
Our Vision
To create a future where every young person regardless of background, gender, or ability has equitable access to education, opportunity, and the resources needed to become leaders and change-makers in their communities.
Meet The Team
Volunteer with us today
Join Smart Aid Initiative's youth-led movement! today.
