M4ACE 2024
Project Sponsor: M4ACE 2024
Project/Program Manager: M4ACE
1st Cohort Target Kick-Off Date: May 2024
1st Cohort Target Completion Date: October 2024
Project Goal: To empower at most 40 aspiring tech professionals all over Nigeria, per cohort of six
months duration, with free tech skills training, mentorship, and guidance, all of which will help kickstart
their careers in the dynamic world of technology.
Scope Description: A community-driven online hub with tech professionals as mentors, facilitating skill
building for aspiring tech professionals in specialized tech areas; working with five (5) mentees per cohort
duration of six (6) months, the community will operate the following eight (8) domains/tracks through
which skills and guidance will be provided to the mentees with a view to building solutions that have
business value:
a. Software development
a. Cloud computing
a. Video editing
a. Brand and Visual Identity design
a. Product Design (UI/UX)
a. Content Writing
a. Cyber Security
a. Data Analytics
Work needed to achieve the project deliverables or outputs:
Pre-Event Work:
Sharing of online survey questionnaire to assess the apparent needs of the target audience, and to
inform the objective development of the program’s features.
Call for Volunteer Instructors through an online volunteer application form.
Cohort 1 Program Planning: Scope Statement, M&E plan (for guiding the program’s reporting and
evaluation) and Project Planning proper [Work breakdown; Resource mapping (including HR); Budgeting
& provision of resources; Activity Scheduling, which will be optimized to the availability of both
volunteer instructors and prospective participants]
Development & Review of curriculum & Class Scheduling
Interviews & Onboarding of Instructors with rules and regulations of the program [includes committing
instructors to the rules and regulations by signing engagement agreements]
Publicity
Event Proper
Orientation Day Event for onboarding the participants onto the program
Commencement of training
Reporting of daily class progress
Student’s Project building
Post-Event
Program Closure with a two-day training on Resume/CV optimization for skill promotion.
Project presentation
Post-event campaign stunts through online reviews:
This will entail mandatory post event campaign stunt where we will be having the participants make
testimonial videos on the impact of the program, and tagging M4Ace as well as social media profiles of
its excos. The tagging of its intended as an outcome benefit of immediate visibility to the excos who will
not be getting any financial compensation in the interim until the project can scale to attract funding.
Issuing of “Certificates of Completion”
Evaluation of Success/Failure of the project
Post-training engagement
Deliverables/Outputs:
Pre-Event Output:
1. Sharing of online survey questionnaire to assess the apparent needs of the target audience, and to
inform the objective development of the program’s features.
2. Online volunteer application form to get application of volunteers
3a. Scope Statement (for identifying the program’s following high-level concepts that will inform its
strategic project management planning: smart goal, scope description, overview of work to be done,
program’s deliverables or outputs, challenges/constraints, program’s success criteria or key performance
indicators, Assumptions.
3b. M&E plan (for identifying the verified data collection sources that will guide the program’s objective
periodic progress tracking and evaluation), and in turn inform the objective identification of all the
high-level concepts in the Scope Statement as well as identify the resources)
3c. Project Planning proper to produce the Work breakdown; Resource mapping (including HR);
Budgeting & provision of resources; Activity Scheduling that is optimized to the availability of both
volunteer instructors and prospective participants
4. Curriculum relevant to current tech industry skill demand
5. Class scheduling optimized to accommodate the peculiar needs of both the participants and
volunteers.
6. Training policy/contractual documentation clarifying M4ACE’s terms of references (TOR) to its
volunteers, and training requirements for participants.
7. Marketing & Communication materials for communicating the clear benefits of the program to both
beneficiaries and the volunteers. The following is not an exhaustive list of communication materials [it
can be more or less]:
● fliers
● newsletters
● carousels
● videos
● official social media pages of M4ACE
● social media posts
● website design updates with SEO optimization
● SEO-optimized blog posts
NOTE: Here also, this includes the design of an e-version of the students' certificate.
Event Proper Output
1. An online Orientation session with an orientation agenda that is developed with every information necessary
to help the participants and volunteers understand the general overview of the program.
2. Regular classes delivering all eight domain skills (or whatever number of skills feasibly agreed upon by
the team) for the period of six months
3. Progress reports collected and entered into the right database for close monitoring
4. Students’ projects being developed
Post-Event
Two-day classes delivering Resume/CV optimization skills to participants
Students’ presentation of their projects
Online video reviews from final participants with the required tags
Issuing certificates of completion to final participants
Follow-through initiatives (messaging, occasional resources) for keeping the participants in the
community and positioned for job openings.
Challenges / Constraints:
Working with the volunteer tech instructors:
1. Limited Availability of Qualified Volunteer Instructors with more than 2-years-experience: As good as
this more-than-two-years-work-experience criterion is important to guarantee the sound delivery of
knowledge to the participants, finding volunteer instructors with more than two years of experience,
impressive project portfolios, and the willingness to commit their time could be challenging. The pool of
available volunteers meeting these criteria may be limited, which could slow down the recruitment
process.
2. Competition with Economic Opportunities: Many individuals in Nigeria prioritize paid job opportunities
due to economic constraints. Convincing experienced tech professionals to volunteer their time, despite
the potential benefits of networking and skill development, may be difficult. The project team may need
to develop persuasive strategies to attract and retain volunteer instructors.
3. Time Commitment Challenges: Volunteer instructors may have busy schedules with their work
commitments. Balancing volunteer work with professional obligations could be a challenge, leading to
potential scheduling conflicts and limitations in their availability to contribute effectively to the
program.
4. Resource Constraints: The volunteers could have varied access to resources and technical infrastructure
needed to deliver promptly and without time lag. This could present varying experiences for the
beneficiaries – from very pleasant to dismal and ugly.
5. Retention of Volunteer Instructors: Keeping volunteer instructors engaged and committed to the
program throughout its duration may be a concern. Without tangible incentives or rewards beyond
networking opportunities, over time some instructors may become disengaged or prioritize other
commitments over their volunteer responsibilities.
6. Quality Assurance and Monitoring: Ensuring consistent quality in the delivery of training and
mentorship by volunteer instructors may be difficult. Implementing effective monitoring and evaluation
mechanisms to assess instructor performance and provide constructive feedback could require additional
resources and logistical support.
General Recommendation: Addressing these constraints will require careful planning, effective
communication, and strategic resource allocation by the M4ACE project team. Building strong
partnerships with volunteer instructors and providing ongoing support and recognition for their
contributions will be essential for the success of the program.
Gaining sustained interest and retention of prospective beneficiaries
Here are potential project constraints that the M4ACE team could face in getting prospective
beneficiaries interested in staying for six months per cohort:
1. Competing Priorities: Many tech enthusiasts and entry-level professionals coming for this program
may have competing priorities such as family responsibilities, part-time jobs, or educational
commitments. Balancing the demands of the program with other obligations could be challenging,
leading to potential dropouts or decreased participation.
2. Limited Awareness and Trust: Building awareness and trust in the program among the target audience
may be a constraint. As a new initiative, M4ACE may struggle to establish credibility and differentiate
itself from other training programs or opportunities in the tech industry. The biggest task for the team
will be to be deliberate in communicating and intentionally delivering on the benefits of the program.
This will help this audience overcome its skepticism, and be attracted, as well as retained to the sixth
month.
3. Financial Constraints: Even though the program offers free training and mentorship, participants may
still face financial constraints related to internet access, and basic living expenses. These financial
challenges could limit their ability to fully engage in the program and attend online sessions regularly.
Truancy or consistent absence may not therefore imply that some of them do not appreciate the
program’s content. Customer relations initiatives might need to be implemented on the go to relate with
participants who consistently are not present.
4. Technical Infrastructure and Access: Access to reliable internet connection and necessary technical
infrastructure for participating in online training sessions may be limited in certain regions of the country.
5. Retention and Motivation: Maintaining participants' motivation and engagement over the six-month
duration of the program may be difficult. Without tangible incentives or immediate rewards, some
participants may lose interest or become disengaged over time. M4ACE team may therefore have to
devise and implement strategies to foster a sense of community, provide ongoing support, and recognize
participants' achievements at every stage of the program. This can go on to help mitigate retention
challenges.
6. Alignment with Career Goals: Participants may join the program with diverse career goals and
expectations. Ensuring that the curriculum and mentorship opportunities align with their individual
aspirations and interests will be important for participant satisfaction and program effectiveness. M4ACE
team may have to apply flexibility in the program design, recognizing the need to provide personalized
support for participants' career development pathways. This helps deliver to the participants a fail-proof
content with relevance to the participant’s own aspirations. This indeed is the real impact.
One way to achieve this is by having instructors provide assignments that address the participant’s
specific work area or industry at the moment. The more an assignment is not generic, but customized to
the participants' work, this makes the program become aligned with the participants’ career goals.
Acceptance criteria: These are the success factors/indicators (KPIs) required to acquire the
approval for completing the project at the end.
Assumptions: These are the key assumptions expected to be true as the work progresses – all
things been equal.
