NIGERIA’S young entrepreneurs, including women-led small and medium enterprises, have been given a $130 million boost that will provide them with increased access to finance.
The funding is made up of $100 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB), $25 million from the Development Bank of Nigeria and $5 million from the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
The fund will be managed by the Nigeria Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB), a pioneering organisation to foster economic growth and job creation in the country by bringing together relevant financial and non-financial stakeholders to collaborate more effectively in support of youth entrepreneurs.
It aims to create over 161,000 direct jobs, 40 per cent of which will be for women, and 1.4 million indirect jobs, with 35 per cent allocated to women.
It will also support more than 38,000 youth-led enterprises through financial services, and an additional 38,000 through non-financial services, with at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries being women.
The AfDB’s Director General for Nigeria, Dr Abdul Kamara, noted the transformative nature of the project
‘This initiative will be a game-changer for Nigeria’s economy, addressing youth unemployment and closing gender gaps through targeted entrepreneurship support,’ he said.
The Director of the Bank’s Financial Sector Development Department, Ahmed Attout, said: ‘By positioning Nigerian youth entrepreneurs as a high-potential investment asset class, it brings together key stakeholders to unlock financial opportunities, open new avenues for public and private sector investors and tackle the structural challenges facing young entrepreneurs.’
For the President of the AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the YEIB in Nigeria could make a huge difference to the country’s embattled young people, arguing that their future does not lie in any advanced country of the world, but in Nigeria.
Delivering the keynote address at a public lecture in Abuja to celebrate the 90th birthday of a former military head of state, General Yakubu Gowon, Adesina said: ‘We must fix the reasons for the massive exodus of Nigeria’s young and innovative talents.
‘This requires a stable microeconomic environment, strong infrastructure, more attractive salaries, state-of-the-art facilities and technology hubs, support for innovation and entrepreneurship, enhanced talents and fiscal incentives.
‘We must do this with our eyes fixated on what we can potentially be.
‘Not just in West Africa, not just in Africa but the world.
‘We must decisively annex and turn Nigeria’s demographic asset into a talent dividend,’ Adesina said.
He added: ‘We must become a global Nigeria, brimming with talents, skills, and entrepreneurship capacities that are powered by clear and consistent and sustainable government policies to become globally competitive and to retain our young talents.
‘Don’t get me wrong but I don’t believe that the future of Nigeria’s youth or that of Africa, lies in Europe, America, China or anywhere else.’
The Nigeria YEIB project is the third to be approved by the AfDB, with efforts ongoing to establish YEIBs in several African countries.
In July 2023, the Bank approved $16 million for the establishment of a YEIB in Liberia, and in May 2024 approved $43 million for a project in Ethiopia that includes the design and establishment of the country’s YEIB.
The YEIB aims to provide needed capital and support to turn ideas into sustainable businesses, offering a long-term solution to Africa’s youth unemployment crisis.
