Chess in Slums Africa (CISA) has launched Cohort 2 of its Chess Dream Project in partnership with Star Ultra Deep Petroleum Limited, building on the success of its first cohort, which saw 10 outstanding students receive ₦1 million each in empowerment support.
Chess as a Gateway to Opportunity
There is a moment in every chess game when a child realises the board is bigger than the 64 squares in front of them. The move they make next is not just about the game; it is about the mind they are building, one calculated decision at a time.
That is why we have never treated chess as the destination, but as the opening move. Through the Chess Dream Project, we use chess as a starting point to develop critical thinking, digital skills, vocational skills, and the confidence to turn learning into opportunity.
With Cohort 1, we saw what this model could achieve. With Cohort 2, we are taking that vision further.
Cohort 1: Our First Move with Children from Makoko and Ikorodu
Between November 2024 and May 2025, more than 50 participants aged 9 to 19 from Makoko and Ikorodu took part in our inaugural 14-week cohort, sponsored by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited) and Chevron, receiving training in chess, coding, design, and vocational skills.
Beyond chess, Cohort 1 marked the launch of our robotics curriculum, introducing participants to STEM and Robotics alongside Digital Literacy, Graphic Design, and Web Development. They also received hands-on training in practical skills including hair styling, barbering, bridal fan making, fashion illustration, and photography, learning not just a skill but how to create with it.
The programme proved a simple thesis: give a child structure, mentorship, and more than one language to speak, the language of strategy, technology, and practical skills, and they can build something with it.
10 Students Empowered with ₦1 Million Each
Cohort 1 Graduation Ceremony with Programme Participants and Representatives from NNPCL and Chevron
Ten outstanding students from Cohort 1 have since been empowered with ₦1 million each in in-kind support for equipment and start-up kits, capacity building, and capital set-up. The support recognises their exemplary performance during the programme and their continued commitment to applying and developing the skills they gained.
The empowerment marks an important next step in the programme’s model. Chess helped build their critical thinking and discipline; digital and vocational training gave them practical skills; and this support gives them the resources to put those skills to work.
Why This Model Works
The combination of chess, digital skills, STEM, and vocational training is intentional. Together, they form a continuous pathway for holistic development:
- Chess builds the mind: critical thinking, patience, foresight, and the discipline to plan several moves ahead before making a decision.
- Digital skills build the edge: participants develop Digital Literacy before specialising in Graphic Design, Web Development, or Robotics, gaining the technical skills to compete in an increasingly digital world.
- Vocational training builds the hands: participants develop practical, market-ready skills alongside Entrepreneurship 101, covering strategy, branding, pricing, and bookkeeping to help turn a skill into a trade, business, and livelihood.
Together, these areas build more than individual skills. They help young people develop the ability to think, create, solve problems, identify opportunities, and build toward greater independence.
Cohort 2: Our Next Move
Cohort 2 brings together more than 70 young participants from different communities and learning environments across Lagos, extending Chess in Slums Africa’s work through a partnership with Star Ultra Deep Petroleum Limited, a Chevron company, and its partners in the OML 140 Block: NNPC Limited, Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited, and Lukoil Company Nigeria.
The cohort includes children from our recently concluded Isale Eko Community Project, a two-week initiative that reaches out-of-school children and street-connected youths through chess. For these participants, the programme provides a longer-term opportunity for learning, mentorship, skills development, and personal growth.
It also includes senior secondary students from five Lagos public schools within Education District 4: Lagos City College, Birrel Avenue Senior High School, Aje Comprehensive Senior High School, Adebola Baptist Senior High School, and Herbert Macaulay Girls Senior Secondary School. Beyond the classroom, the programme gives them access to technology, mentorship, practical skills, and exposure to new possibilities that complement their formal education and broaden their understanding of what they can pursue.
The cohort also includes representation from Lekki, Chevron’s host community, further connecting the programme to the communities within the partnership’s wider ecosystem.
Together, these participants reflect the heart of Chess in Slums Africa’s mission: using chess as an entry point to reach young people with limited access to experiences like these, and creating pathways for them to develop the skills, confidence, and opportunities to shape their own futures.
The Board is Set
This is what becomes possible when the right partners invest in giving young people the tools to think, create, and shape their own futures.
Make the Next Move with Us
If your organisation believes in giving children the tools to think, create, and build for themselves, we would like to hear from you. Whether through sponsorship, skills training, mentorship, equipment support, or a programme of your own design, there are many ways to support the work we do with children from underserved communities. Send us a mail partnerships@chessinslumsafrica.com to explore how we can work together.
Chess in Slums Africa. Unveiling the royalty in every child.
