Abuja: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with the Kwara Government, has empowered 30 youth innovators in entrepreneurship and other skills to establish their businesses through a programme held on Wednesday in Ilorin.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the initiative is part of the Young Africa Innovates (YAI), Kwara State Innovation Showcase. The programme, themed ‘Igniting Innovation-Youth Solutions for the Future’, aims to catalyse youth-led innovation to drive socio-economic development. Ms. Elsie Attafuah, the UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, highlighted that the YAI programme is a partnership between the UNDP and the MasterCard Foundation, focusing on identifying, incubating, and scaling innovations across various sectors.
Attafuah, represented by Mrs. Catherine Ibrahim, the Incubation Specialist on the YAI programme, emphasized that innovation extends beyond technology to address real-world problems affecting communities. The initiative celebrates young individuals creating climate solutions, inclusive fintech tools, waste-to-wealth platforms, and agro-logistics systems. The programme specifically targets empowering youths from marginalized and rural communities, with over 9,000 applications received from seven states, narrowed down to 30 innovators per state.
The selected 30 innovators have undergone four months of rigorous mentorship training, capacity building, and received seed funding to scale their innovations and businesses. The programme aims to deliver solutions that are unique to local communities. Mr. Temi Kolawole, Managing Director of the Ilorin Innovation Hub, acknowledged the ingenuity of Nigerian youths, emphasizing the need for guidance to harness their creativity. He also noted that the innovation programme has reached rural areas and included people with disabilities.
Mrs. Bilkis Abdulkadir, CEO of Bazkkam Para-Sports Academy and one of the innovators, praised the intervention for providing a platform for people living with disabilities to showcase their talents, particularly in sports. Similarly, Mr. Abdulsalam Hussein, CEO of Harmony Natural Fruits Drinks, described the programme as a transformative experience that reshaped his business ideas.