Lagos, Nigeria — 560,000 Nigerians, primarily youth and women, will access sustainable work by 2022, through the Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works in Nigeria partnership with Babban Gona.
Acknowledging that employment is the ultimate solution to poverty, the partnership seeks to empower individuals in the agricultural value chain and support agribusinesses with technology for smallholders with training and education, access to cost-effective financing, as well as harvesting and marketing support services. These services and products encourage smallholders to overcome the challenges of supply-side fragmentation and low economies of scale.
In 2020 alone, the partnership successfully created 82,000 jobs, of which 70% were for youth and 33% for women. Over the last year, Babban Gona used the support of the Mastercard Foundation to grow to new record levels; with 80,000+ acres under cultivation with diversification into rice farming; more than 38,000 smallholder farmer members; and more than 18,500 female entrepreneurs supported across six states of operation.
Talatu, a female entrepreneur and Trust Group Leader said, “I am grateful to Babban Gona for changing my life. I look around and can see the transformation that has taken place in our home. My children are well-fed and in good schools; we have also refurbished our home and bought additional land. All I see around me is growth.”
Kola Masha, Managing Director of Babban Gona, stated that “The organization’s goal is simple: to be the Earth’s highest impact business. We will accomplish this by simultaneously and dramatically scaling the number of individuals impacted, while also ensuring a depth of impact on each individual to truly transform their lives and the lives of their family. Working together we can coordinate actions and make much-needed investments in agriculture to ensure resilience among smallholders in the post-COVID-19 era.”
