Lagos, Nigeria 16 June, 2020 – The International Institute of Topical Agriculture (IITA), through its Youth in Agribusiness office, is partnering with the Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria to implement the Young Africa Works strategy.
The partnership aims to enable 242,724 young Nigerian women and men to build skills and secure dignified and fulfilling work opportunities in the agrifood value chain over the next 5 years.
Young Africa Works, developed in consultation with young people, policymakers, educators, and entrepreneurs, is Mastercard Foundation’s strategy that will enable 30 million young people in Africa, to access dignified and fulfilling work over the next 10 years. In Nigeria, Young Africa Works aims to see 10 million young Nigerians, the majority young women, in work opportunities by 2030.
“Agriculture is at the heart of Africa’s economic transformation. It will profoundly define the future of work. Work is all around us especially in agriculture (production, processing, financing, packaging and marketing). We’re focusing on agriculture in Nigeria because we see these opportunities and we will work with partners like IITA to make them visible to young people,” said Chidinma Lawanson, Nigeria Country Head at Mastercard Foundation.