AgriFood Youth Opportunity Lab Launched in Nigeria

The MasterCard Foundation is partnering with Michigan State University (MSU) for the AgriFood Youth Opportunity Lab, a five-year, $13 million collaboration.

This partnership will support 15,000 young people aged 18 to 24 in major bread basket food shed regions surrounding Lagos and Dar es Salaam to access employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. AgriFood Youth Opportunity Lab will encourage youth to participate in the fast-growing horticulture, aquaculture, poultry, cassava and oilseed sectors in Nigeria and Tanzania. The partnership will also assist economically disadvantaged, hard-to-reach out-of-school youth as they transition into employment and entrepreneurship opportunities in the agrifood system.

The MasterCard Foundation and Michigan State University will launch this initiative at the AgriFood Youth Opportunity Lab Private and Public Sector Plenary and Launch Reception.

The formal launch will take place on Monday, May 15, 2017 at Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Dignitries that will be at the event include: Alemayehu Konde Koira, Senior Program Manager, Youth Livelihoods, The MasterCard Foundation; Dr. Julie Howard, Agrifood Youth Opportunity Lab Director and Senior Advisor, Associate Provost and Dean, International Studies and Programs at Michigan State University; Dr. Adesoji Adelaja, Hannah Distinguished Professor in Land Policy, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University; Ms. Oyindamola Asaaju, Youth Agripreneur, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

Dr. Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General for Partnerships for Delivery, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA); Jacob Gbemiga Adewale, Provost of Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology (OYSCATECH) and Bunmi Akinyemiju, Managing Director and CEO, Venture Garden Group Nigeria.