Information Technology expert, Hanson Johnson, has announced a N40 million scholarship fund as his 2025 birthday giveaway.
Mr Johnson, the chief executive officer of Start Innovation Hub, a tech company based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, announced the scholarship in a post on his Facebook page.
|
|
Established in 2014, Start Innovation Hub is an innovation and technology incubation company dedicated to fostering entrepreneurship, driving innovation, and empowering startups to succeed in the fast-paced digital landscape.
In another video, Mr Johnson said he had asked the people what he should do as a “birthday giveaway,” and that the people overwhelmingly voted for a scholarship and a slash in school fees at his tech centre.
|
|
|
|---|
His birthday is on Tuesday, 22 July.
“It’s my birthday month, and you asked, so I’m delivering. Over 98 per cent of you voted for scholarships and discounts, and I heard you loud and clear.
“This July, I’m thrilled to announce I’ll be giving out N40 million in scholarships and discounts of up to N200,000 off service offerings,” he said in a post on Facebook last week.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Mr Johnson said he has slashed the school fees for the three main courses in his IT Hub.
To celebrate his 2025 birthday, Mr Johnson slashed the school fees for Cybersecurity from N350,000 to N150,000. The same discount for Data Analysis, while Digital Marketing fee is reduced from N250,000 to N50,000.
To enroll for the courses, Mr Hanson said he has created a link on the company’s website for applicants to register, stressing that the offer is valid within his birthday month, July.
“Cybersecurity and Data Analysis are six-month courses, while Digital Marketing is three months,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.
“Hurry now, the promo will end this July,” said an explainer video posted on Facebook, calling for people to take advantage of the price slash in programmes offered in the tech centre.
Speaking further, the IT expert said his company has for the past 11 years been at the forefront of building the capacity of tech talents in the Niger Delta region and connecting the people to meaningful jobs globally in the digital economy.
“Some of our graduates went ahead and co-founded tech startups, raising up to $2 million in funding. Some of them are now working in the USA, UK, Canada, and Germany, and in most big tech companies in Nigeria.
“Some of the partners of Start Innovation Hub have worked in several other companies, including PIND Foundation, Google, World Bank, and Meta (Facebook),” Mr Johnson said.
The tech company has graduated over 4,000 trainees who are now working in private and public corporations within and outside the country.
Punch Newspaper last October reported that, in collaboration with Georgid Consulting and Crestsage Limited, the tech company trained 700 people in Digital Marketing, Data Analytics, and Cybersecurity. The training was sponsored by the federal government and the World Bank, according to the newspaper.
About Mr Johnson
Mr Hanson’s LinkedIn profile indicates that between 2021 and 2023, Mr Johnson served on the board of Innovation Support Network as Ecosystem director, where he was responsible for ecosystem development programmes that kept hub members engaged and made their startups investment-ready.
The IT expert has since 2010 contributed to the development of the technology ecosystem in Nigeria as a software engineer, ecosystem builder, manager, and mentor.
“In April 2018, he was part of the MADE II project as the National ICT Consultant, where he played a crucial role in designing the work plan and delivery model for Edo Innovation Cluster.”
Mr Johnson previously worked as Nigeria in-country analyst and facilitator consultant for DAI Inc, United Kingdom where he supported the UK-based Digital Access Teams (DFID, FCO, GCS and DCMS) from Government of the UK and the Prosperity Team in the UK High Commission in Nigeria during the Digital Access Programme diagnostic, scoping and engagement work on catalysing digital inclusion in Nigeria.
In recognition of his contribution to talent development, the Akwa Ibom State Government, three years ago, honoured him with Akwa Ibom State Productivity Order of Merit Award in ICT.
