The International Centre for Development Affairs (ICDA) has officially launched SAFED-Africa — Skills Acquisition Friday for Enterprise Development in Africa — a transformative initiative that proposes dedicating every Friday in Nigerian basic and secondary schools to hands-on vocational and entrepreneurship skills training. SAFED-Africa responds to a growing crisis in Nigeria's education system: a generation of young people completing secondary school with no practical skills, limited employability, and few pathways to economic independence. ICDA's solution is radical in its simplicity — give schools one day per week to teach children how the real economy works. On SAFED Fridays, students engage with practical modules drawn from ICDA's VEDC and Knowledge Marketplace curriculum — age-appropriate activities covering basic business concepts, simple production and crafts, financial literacy, digital skills, and environmental stewardship. The goal is not to distract from academic learning but to deepen it by showing students how knowledge connects to real-world value creation. "We are asking a fundamental question," said Dr Osita Aniemeka at the launch. "What is education for? If it is only for examinations, we are failing our children. If it is for life — for work, for enterprise, for community — then we must teach accordingly. SAFED-Africa is our answer." ICDA is currently piloting SAFED-Africa in partnership with select schools in Anambra and Delta States, with plans to extend to other states and pursue policy adoption at the federal level. Schools and state education ministries interested in the program should contact ICDA's programs team.
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