In Kukum-Daji, a rural community in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the internet was simply absent. Students left the community just to download learning materials or complete assignments. Youth with ambition had no access to digital skills training. Small business owners couldn’t reach customers beyond their immediate environment. Farmers made planting and selling decisions without reliable digital tools to guide them. Persons with disabilities also face another layer of exclusion. For residents of Kukum-Daji, the digital world did not exist.

On February 4, 2026, that changed.

Residents of Kukum-Daji gathered to inaugurate the Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Community Self-Built Connectivity Hub — solar-powered and equipped with a satellite internet kit and computers that many are using for the first time. Women of the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) contributed financially toward its construction and did not stop there — they also hold positions in the hub management committee, ensuring decisions about the hub remain in the hands of the people it serves. Traditional leaders mobilised the community every step of the way. This project was sponsored by the United Kingdom Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) under the Digital Access Programme (DAP) and facilitated by Initiative for Digital Inclusion (IDI) in collaboration with Fantsuam Foundation. The hub was built with and by the community — and that is exactly where it belongs.

Representatives of the Kagoro Chief’s Palace, the Gworok Development Association (GDA) Chairman, the District Head, VSLA members, women, youth, persons with disabilities, and community members all showed up — not just to commission a facility, but to witness something they had all helped make possible.

Hon. Jerry Suku, Speaker of Kaura Local Government Area, formally handed over the facility to the community and commended the UK Government for the initiative, describing it as timely and impactful with strong potential to expand access to education, information, and digital opportunities. He went further — pledging a scholarship slot to a College of Education beneficiary, two slots for free JAMB registration, and furniture for the hub to ensure a conducive learning environment. He pledged his full support for the project and the residents of Kukum-Daji.

The difference is already visible.

Kukum-Daji is widely known for its ginger farming — yet its farmers have long made critical decisions without reliable digital tools. Farmers and local entrepreneurs can now create business email addresses, access wider markets, and leverage social media for marketing and networking — turning a locally grown product into a digitally connected business. With weather updates, real-time market prices, and agricultural insights now within reach, farming in Kukum-Daji will never be the same. Also, students of the community for the first time, can now make research and complete assignments without leaving the community. And for youths and persons with disabilities who once had no digital footing at all, skills training and online learning are now at their doorsteps.

To build on that momentum, residents of Kukum-Daji will go through eight weeks of free digital skills training with certificates within the hub — giving them the practical skills to turn connectivity into income, learning, and job opportunities.

Kukum-Daji spent too long on the far side of the digital divide. That is no longer the case.

📸 See pictures below for more…

Osondu Nwokoro – IDI handing over the Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Hub to Hon. Jerry Suku, Speaker of the Local Government Council

David Peter, Esq., Wazirin Kagoro and representative of the Chief’s of Kagoro about to cut the ribbon at the Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Connectivity Hub

Osondu Nwokoro (IDI) having meeting with the management team of Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Community Self-Built Connectivity Hub

Osondu Nwokoro -IDI commending the Chairperson of the Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Connectivity Hub

Installed Starlink dish at Kukum Daji Biyan Zit Community Connectivity Hub, Kaduna State

IDI representatives with the CEO of Fantsuam Foundation and the Kukum-Daji Biyan Zit Hub management team