The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), working with the Mastercard Foundation, has created over 90,000 employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Nigerian youths, women, and persons with disabilities under the Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) project.
Launched in 2020, the initiative targets young people aged 15 to 35, equipping them with technical, entrepreneurial, and business skills needed to either establish agribusinesses or secure dignified employment within Nigeria’s agrifood ecosystem.
The programme has been implemented across Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Jigawa, and Adamawa states, with deliberate emphasis on inclusion.
Beyond job placement, I-Youth focuses on building sustainable livelihoods by supporting young people to participate meaningfully along agricultural value chains, from production to processing, marketing, and services.
Partnership, Investment and Measurable Outcomes
Speaking at the Phase I closeout ceremony, IITA Director-General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, stressed the importance of investing in young people as drivers of economic transformation.
“I-Youth demonstrates what happens when vision, partnership, and opportunity converge. When young people are given skills, mentorship, and access to markets, they do not just seek jobs; they create them,” he said.
Dr Ehui attributed the project’s outcomes to collaboration between IITA, the Mastercard Foundation, state governments, private sector actors, training institutions, and community leaders.
He disclosed that the partnership supported the establishment of 36,053 youth-led agribusinesses, alongside agribusiness parks, innovation hubs, and cooperative clusters designed to strengthen enterprise growth.
Alignment With National and Continental Youth Goals
Also speaking at the event, the Mastercard Foundation’s Country Director for Nigeria, Ms Rosy Fynn, highlighted the project’s alignment with the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy.
“I-Youth has been a major contributor to our goal of enabling 10 million Nigerians to access dignified and fulfilling work. The numbers reached represent real lives transformed and stronger communities,” she said.
Ms Fynn also commended the Start Them Early Program, which enabled secondary school students and their families to establish more than 5,900 home-based agribusiness ventures, reinforcing early exposure to entrepreneurship.
Voices From Beneficiaries And Future Expansion
Participants at the ceremony shared testimonies on the programme’s impact.
Olumide Garuba from Lagos State said I-Youth helped him formalise his agribusiness and employ other youths, while Mariam Abass from Kaduna State explained how the initiative enabled her to overcome gender barriers, rebuild her poultry business, and support women in her community.
Panel discussions focused on inclusive agribusiness growth and scaling youth-led enterprises, identifying access to finance, stronger market linkages, and sustained post-training support as critical priorities, especially for women and persons with disabilities.
Lessons from the programme’s implementation in Nigeria are now shaping similar initiatives in Sierra Leone and Liberia, signalling the project’s expanding influence across West Africa.
As Phase I concludes, stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to sustaining and scaling the most effective elements of the I-Youth model to deepen youth participation in Africa’s agrifood economy.
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