By Franca Ofili
The Federal Government has committed to collaborating with the Mastercard Foundation Fund,
an NGO, to create employment opportunities for youth, said Dr. Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, Minister of Youth Development.
He made this known when the NGO’s Grants, Finance and Risk Management Officer, Mr. Abraham Ndambuki, paid him a courtesy visit.
in Abuja.
He said the association would focus on men, women, people with disabilities and internally displaced people.
He explained that participants in the partnership program will be selected in groups so that each participant can take advantage of the others.
According to her, this approach will offer greater opportunities for young entrepreneurs to benefit from the fund.
He promised to provide the fund with a database of young people who would benefit from it and to ensure that the businesses are sustainable and successful.
“We are also in the process of designing a framework for a Youth Development Bank, while the Youth Investment Fund is being reviewed.
“We want to improve and expand this program. We will make the fund operational.
“We are open to ideas on how we can work together and collaborate in those priority sectors of the government,” he said.
Bio-Ibrahim added that the ministry was focusing on priority sectors such as agriculture, climate adaptation and the digital economy.
Blue economy, mining and renewable energy for the integration of young people in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the primary objective of the fund is to unlock business growth, scale up and sustain it.
creating decent and fulfilling job opportunities for Nigerian youth.
In his presentation, Ndambuki said the programme had been implemented in 20 African countries and Nigeria was one of them.
He added that “we have engaged 35 different stakeholders, including government officials and the private sector, as
The programme is in its second phase. The first phase was completed last year and lasted 10 years.
“It was valued at $50 million and we managed to disburse the entire $50 million in eight countries.
“The foundation has come up with a second phase and has increased the amount to 126 million dollars, equivalent to approximately
N194 billion at the current exchange rate.
“This will last for the next seven years, so now we are in the first year, which is the preliminary stage, and that is why we are
“Conduct visibility market research to identify and understand Nigerian markets.”
According to him, Nigeria is the central focus of the organization, adding that the presence of the fund in the country is to identify
Key stakeholders to partner with as the programme kicks off in April. (NAN) (www.nannew.ng)
Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu
published by
JOBs Apply News
For the Latest JOBs Apply News, Follow ©JOBs Apply News on Twitter and Linkedin Page.
