The African Development Bank (AfDB) has launched a global initiative to enhance the lives of youths in three African countries by providing them with funding and employment opportunities.
This information can be found in a statement made by Ezekiel Chukwuemeka of the Nigeria Country Department of the AfDB Group.
According to Chukwuemeka, the project will help young farmers who are drawn to urban farming in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda.
The initiative is also known as ‘Creating Sustainable Youth Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Through Urban Farming,’ or ‘SYMUF’.
The SYMUF project received 937,000 dollars in grant funding from the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance, a multi-donor trust fund managed by the AfDB.
He said the bank was partnering with a consortium of incubation centers in participating countries to implement the project.
The centers are, the Africa Projects Development Centre, APDC, in Nigeria, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA-Bukavu, in the DRC, and the African Agribusiness Incubation Network in Uganda.
Speaking at the inauguration in Abuja, Lamin Barrow, the Director-General, AfDB Nigeria Country Department said the bank was committed to promoting entrepreneurship.
Barrow was represented by Orison Amu, the bank’s Country Operations Manager for Nigeria.
“The bank is committed to creating jobs and providing incomes for African youths, who are attracted to urban agriculture but do not get jobs, capital, or credit to operate their agribusinesses.”
Barrow said the project would provide a solution for unemployed youths and those in the early start-up stage who had not gained traction due to limited skills and financial resources.
Also, Alex Ariho, Chief Executive Officer of the African Agribusiness Incubation Network in Uganda, said the SYMUF project would help young African ‘agripreneurs’ overcome start-up incubation and management challenges.
“Working together with all the partners, we are committed to making the SYMUF Project one of the best projects sponsored by the African Development Bank,” Ariho said.
IITA-Bukavu’s Project Coordinator, Noel Mulinganya, however, said the bank has been “an important and tremendous partner over the years.”
Also speaking, Chiji Ojukwu, the Managing Director of APDC, Nigeria, said, “we are grateful to the African Development Bank for believing in the consortium.
“We are also grateful for giving us the opportunity to deploy our expertise in urban farming to develop young agripreneurs in these select African countries.”
Also, Edson Mpyisi, AfDB’s Coordinator for the ENABLE Youth Programme, said, “this program is designed to empower youth at each stage of the agribusiness value chain as ‘agripreneurs’ by harnessing new skills, technologies, and financing approaches.”
