By Agrobroadcast Team
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), working alongside the Mastercard Foundation, has created over 90,000 job and business opportunities for young Nigerians, women, and persons living with disabilities through its Innovative Youth in Agriculture (I-Youth) initiative.
Introduced in 2020, the I-Youth programme targets individuals between the ages of 15 and 35, providing them with practical agricultural skills, entrepreneurship training, and business development support to help them build agribusiness ventures or find meaningful employment within the agrifood sector. The project has been rolled out in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Jigawa, and Adamawa states, with strong emphasis on inclusion and equal access.
At the close-out ceremony for Phase I, IITA Director-General and CGIAR Regional Director for Continental Africa, Dr Simeon Ehui, stressed that youth-focused investments are critical to sustainable development.
He explained that the success of I-Youth shows the impact of strategic collaboration, noting that when young people receive proper training, mentorship, and market access, they become job creators rather than job seekers.
Dr Ehui credited the achievements of the programme to strong partnerships involving the Mastercard Foundation, state governments, private sector stakeholders, training centres, and community representatives. According to him, the initiative supported the creation of 36,053 youth-owned agribusinesses and led to the development of agribusiness parks, innovation centres, and cooperative clusters.
Also addressing the gathering, the Mastercard Foundation’s Country Director in Nigeria, Ms Rosy Fynn, described I-Youth as a key driver of the Foundation’s Young Africa Works agenda.
She said the programme had played a significant role in advancing the Foundation’s ambition to connect 10 million Nigerians to decent and sustainable work, adding that the figures reflect tangible improvements in livelihoods and community resilience.
Ms Fynn further commended the Start Them Early Programme (STEP), which empowered secondary school students and their families to set up more than 5,900 small-scale, home-based agribusinesses.
Beneficiaries of the initiative also shared personal stories of impact. Olumide Garuba from Lagos State said the programme helped him structure his agribusiness properly and create jobs for other young people, while Mariam Abass from Kaduna State explained how I-Youth enabled her to overcome gender-related challenges, revive her poultry enterprise, and mentor women in her locality.
Panel sessions during the event examined strategies for inclusive agribusiness growth and youth enterprise expansion, with participants highlighting the need for better financing options, stronger market connections, and continued support after training, especially for women and persons with disabilities.
Experiences from implementing I-Youth in the five Nigerian states are now shaping similar programmes in Sierra Leone and Liberia, reflecting the initiative’s expanding footprint across West Africa.
With Phase I completed, partners reiterated their resolve to preserve and scale up the most impactful components of the I-Youth model.