"Attitude is more important than skill"
Awareness and enlightenment
campaign targeting young people
What we do
The HCDF platform was born from a simple but powerful idea: that our community’s greatest asset is its people. We looked at the challenges facing our state and our country and saw a gap that needs to be filled. This gap is the divide between what we are experiencing today and what we believe is possible.
We’re here to bridge that gap. We will engage with young people to transform their mindsets, helping them gain the confidence and skills they need to become active participants in our shared future. A peaceful and prosperous Rivers State is possible.
For too long, we’ve seen a decline in the very vocations that built our communities. It’s time to change that. We’re on a mission to make traditional occupations like fishing, farming, and trading attractive and profitable again. Our goal is to empower young people and women to not just participate in these fields, but to build thriving businesses from them.
Our work is deliberate and transformational. By providing a forum for civic awareness, entrepreneurial training, and leadership development, we are cultivating a new generation of patriotic citizens, creators, and leaders who will shape the destiny of their communities.
Youth empowerment and awareness program
Curriculum Development: Design engaging and culturally relevant curricula for civics (governance, rights, responsibilities) and entrepreneurship training (business planning, financial literacy, perseverance, value of collectivism and collaboration, digital skills).
Workshop Delivery: Organise interactive workshops and training sessions in community centres, schools, or virtual platforms, as well as doing speaking tours targeting young people. Develop business ideas into credible business cases and actionable business plans.
Community Events: Host youth forums, innovation challenges, pitch competitions, and community service projects to encourage conscious civic participation and promote entrepreneurial spirit.
Mentoring Program: To create a structured program designed to match youth with local and diaspora mentors for guidance and support. Internship program to provide work experience opportunities for college and university students and fresh graduates.
Resource Hub: Develop an online/offline resource hub with educational materials, mentoring, business development resource templates, and funding opportunities. Every local government jurisdiction must aspire to establish a modern resource centre aimed at eliminating digital barriers to bridge the unacceptably wide digital gap in our communities.
Communities regeneration
Enabling Environment & Security
Partnerships: Forge strong alliances with traditional rulers, community development associations, local government authorities, security agencies, and trusted relevant NGOs, local government and state government ministries, and faith organisations.
Advocacy: Engage in constructive dialogue and advocacy with stakeholders to address root causes of insecurity and advocate for improved infrastructure and governance.
Community Engagement: Facilitate community-led initiatives for peacebuilding, conflict resolution, community cohesion, and local security monitoring (e.g., community watch groups if appropriate and safe).
Data Collection: Gather data on potential investment opportunities, security incidents and infrastructure gaps to inform advocacy efforts and project development.
Diaspora engagement and investment
Develop and build a secure, user-friendly online platform featuring:
- Showcase potentially viable business ideas and concepts accompanied by business case documents.
- Investment portal with clear terms and transparency.
- Communication tools for diaspora-community interaction.
- Success stories and impact reports.
Project Identification & Vetting: Collaborate with local communities to identify viable and sustainable projects in agriculture, solar, food processing, retail, and hospitality. Feasibility studies and due diligence. Provide character references for local investment partnerships.
Legal & Financial Frameworks: Transparent and legally protected frameworks for diaspora investment, ensuring accountability.
Diaspora Outreach: Conduct targeted outreach campaigns (online webinars, diaspora events) to raise awareness and solicit participation.
Expertise Mobilisation: Encourage diaspora professionals to offer pro bono consulting, training, and technical assistance.