President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday launched the Nigerian Youth Academy Gigs Platform and presided over the NIYA Grant Award Ceremony in Abuja, themed “One Youth, Two Skills,” in a move that strengthens the government’s drive to build a digitally skilled and economically empowered youth workforce. The event, described as a major step in national youth development, introduced direct financial support to 300 beneficiaries across formal and informal sectors, signaling a boost for startups and young artisans working to scale their businesses.
Two hundred youth-led startups in the formal sector received one million naira each, while one hundred beneficiaries in the informal sector received five hundred thousand naira each to advance their enterprises. Addressing the awardees, the President encouraged them to dream big, innovate, and build boldly, stressing that creativity and technology will be key to positioning young Nigerians as global competitors in the modern economy. He further announced the rollout of NIYA Gigs, a national freelancing and digital marketplace that will connect Nigerian youths to paid work opportunities within and outside the country, helping more young people transition into remote work and the global digital economy.
The President reiterated his commitment to youth development and highlighted ongoing plans to expand enterprise financing, consumer credit access, fairer taxation, and regulatory reforms aimed at removing hurdles that discourage young business owners. He described the grants as seed investment in the future, noting that the initiative represents national confidence in the capacity of young people to build sustainable ventures.
Government officials explained that the scheme marks the beginning of a unified youth development structure designed to merge informal and formal sector talent into national progress, while also placing the younger population at the center of the country’s economic strategy. With this launch, NIYA is evolving into a full youth empowerment system that links skills training with market access, funding, and opportunities beyond Nigeria’s borders.
For MSMEs, freelancers, informal traders, and young founders across the country, this signals a new opening to scale solutions, access capital more easily, and plug into platforms that reward skills rather than connections. If fully implemented, the NIYA Gigs platform may become one of the gateways that helps African youth-owned small businesses grow into export-ready ventures, creating jobs and stimulating micro-level economic growth across states.
