{"id":13706,"date":"2026-06-20T12:29:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:29:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/iita-partners-with-mastercard-foundation-in-nigeria-to-implement-young-africa-works\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T21:37:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T21:37:04","slug":"iita-partners-with-mastercard-foundation-in-nigeria-to-implement-young-africa-works","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/iita-partners-with-mastercard-foundation-in-nigeria-to-implement-young-africa-works\/","title":{"rendered":"IITA partners with Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria to implement Young Africa Works"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lagos, Nigeria 16 June 2020 – <\/strong>The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA<\/a>), through its Youth in Agribusiness office, is partnering with the Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria to implement the Young Africa Works strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Agribusiness
Agribusiness made easy through the use of ICT<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Africa Works<\/a>, developed in consultation with young people, policymakers, educators, and entrepreneurs, is Mastercard Foundation\u2019s strategy that will enable 30 million young people in Africa, to access dignified and fulfilling work over the next ten years. In Nigeria, Young Africa Works aims to see 10 million young Nigerians, the majority young women, in work opportunities by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAgriculture is at the heart of Africa\u2019s 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\u2019re 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,\u201d said Chidinma Lawanson, Nigeria Country Head at Mastercard Foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Some
Some young agripreneurs ready to move their harvested produce to the market<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IITA project focuses on building innovative and inclusive agrifood systems for young people between the ages of 15 and 35 and will support them to secure employment or self-employment through entrepreneurship across three Nigerian states, Kaduna, Kano, and Lagos, over the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will leverage and scale existing IITA youth initiatives, including the Start Them Early Program (STEP<\/a>). STEP is a mechanism that improves agricultural instruction in secondary schools in a manner that better directs career paths toward modern agriculture and agribusiness. Partnerships with the Commissions of Education in each of the focus states will lead to a massive out-scaling of the STEP program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Agribusiness
Agribusiness training for young people in secondary school<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In collaboration with the Enterprise Development Centre\u2019s online learning platform, the digital STEP program, delivered through Young Africa Works, is expected to revolutionize agriculture teaching in public institutions of education across Nigeria. The program will also scale access to vocational education for marginalized young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will be implemented with several partners and the state governments. Youth-sensitive loan and agribusiness support programs will be developed with financial institutions that recognize the specialized needs of young people, especially young women, as agricultural borrowers. The program will aim to reduce the risks associated with young people obtaining credit for agricultural investment purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A practical session for youths learning about catfish processing at the agribusiness incubation center<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur partners are well-positioned to provide the training, placement, and agribusiness support services required in the three target states of Nigeria. This optimal mix of partners will ensure that the project approaches reflect the special attention that the Young Africa Works strategy places on young women.\u00a0 The project will apply special approaches to empower young women in Northern Nigeria while considering cultural sensitivities,\u201d said Evelyn Ohanwusi, Training Coordinator, Young Africa Works-IITA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ends<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media contacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

IITA<\/strong>
Katherine Lopez
Directeur de la Communication
k.lopez@cgiar.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Africa Works \u2013 IITA<\/strong>
Adetola Adenmosun
Agent de communication
a.adenmosun@cgiar.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mastercard Foundation<\/strong>
Helen White
Strategy Lead, Program Communications
hwhite@mastercardfdn.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c0 propos de l'IITA<\/strong>
Le <\/em>Institut International d'Agriculture Tropicale<\/em><\/a> (IITA) is a not-for-profit institution that generates agricultural innovations to meet Africa\u2019s most pressing challenges of hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and natural resource degradation. Working with various partners across sub-Saharan Africa, we improve livelihoods, enhance food and nutrition security, increase employment, and preserve natural resource integrity. IITA is a member of CGIAR, a global agriculture research partnership for a food secure future.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Mastercard Foundation<\/strong>
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.\u00a0 It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. Mastercard created the Foundation in 2006 as an independent organization with its Board of Directors and management. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":13707,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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