Nourishing Africa, In partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Riby, is launching the Youth in Agri-Food Export Development Program (YAEDP), a six-month program designed to develop the capacity of 15,000 Nigerian youth, aged 25 – 40 to participate in export.
The program will provide virtual training, market linkages, and digital support to entrepreneurs and co-operative leaders in the agri-food sector across ten states in Nigeria including, Abia, Adamawa, Cross River, Edo, FCT, Kano, Lagos, Kogi, Ogun and Oyo.
The YAEDP is accepting applications from agrifood entrepreneurs and cooperative leaders operating in these value chains: cocoa, spices, sesame, shea butter, cashew, cassava, soybean, rubber, ginger.
Eligibility Criteria
Nigerian agrifood entrepreneurs and cooperative leaders:
• Between 25 – 40 years old who are looking to export their produce.
• Registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
• Located in the priority states in Nigeria.
• Produce and/or sell food products in the priority value chains.
• Have at least three employees.
• Have been operational for at least one year.
If selected, participants must be willing to dedicate at least 3 hours in a week for 6 – 8 weeks for the training component of the program. The training will be entirely online leveraging digital channels and media.
Important Application Details
• Eligible individuals can apply through the application portal: https://nourishingafrica.com/yaedp/application.
• The YAEDP aims to ensure inclusiveness, hence, we strongly encourage applications from women and underrepresented youth such as those with disabilities.
• Applicants are to note that this program does not provide grants to participants. Application and participation in the program are free of charge.
• Applications are open until 30th April 2022, but eligible businesses are encouraged to complete and submit their applications as soon as possible.
• Selection will be on a rolling basis.
• For additional information, please go to the FAQ section on the application portal.
