The federal authorities has introduced a brand new nationwide expertise programme geared toward connecting 20 million younger Nigerians to jobs, coaching, and entrepreneurship alternatives by 2030. No less than 60 p.c of beneficiaries are anticipated to be girls.
That is simply as Vice President Kashim Shettima has assumed the chairmanship of the reactivated Board of Technology Limitless (GenU) Nigeria, with a mandate to attach 20 million younger Nigerians to employment alternatives by 2030.
Talking on Wednesday in the course of the inaugural board assembly of Technology Limitless Nigeria, VP Shettima, in a press release by his spokesman, Stanley Nkwocha, described Nigeria’s youthful inhabitants because the nation’s superpower and comparative benefit in a quickly ageing world.
The GenU board assembly coincided with Worldwide Youth Day 2025, themed “Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”
“With over 60 p.c of our inhabitants beneath the age of 25, we can not afford to squander this asset. A bonus unrealised is merely potential wasted. We should refine it, we should put money into it, and we should channel it in direction of productive destinies,” the vp stated.
VP Shettima warned that Nigeria’s “nationwide expertise ecosystem faces a trilemma” with too many younger individuals excluded from the beginning, coaching disconnected from livelihoods, and insufficient infrastructure for large-scale hands-on studying.
“One other remoted coaching scheme won’t ship us from these constraints. What we want is systemic change—a brand new structure constructed to final,” he added.
The centrepiece of this push is the Digital Entry and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), described as a demand-driven nationwide expertise pipeline that may hyperlink foundational and work-readiness coaching on to assured jobs or enterprise pathways.
“We’d like a platform to unify authorities, non-public sector leaders, improvement companions, and the boundless power of our youth below a single banner. It is a proposition to draw coordinated funding and change fragmented efforts with a typical entrance,” VP Shettima stated.
The vp pledged that each one coaching below the initiative will align with the Nationwide Abilities Qualification Framework to make sure that “our younger individuals possess not solely the talents to work however the credentials to compete globally.”
Charging the brand new board, in collaboration with UNICEF and different companions, to proceed with full improvement and implementation of DALI, VP Shettima stated, “Let this be the turning level. Let this be the day historical past remembers because the second we stopped managing youth unemployment as an inevitable disaster and began unlocking the inventive, entrepreneurial, and mental capital of our individuals.
“We owe younger Nigerians jobs. We owe them hope. We owe them the long run, not simply guarantees, however proof that their nation believes in them sufficient to put money into their success.”
In his remarks, minister of youth improvement, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, stated the administration’s imaginative and prescient is “clear — create jobs, bridge the talents hole, and empower younger individuals by means of human capital improvement, not simply token gestures.”
“Nigerian youths aren’t restricted. Now we have the expertise, creativity, and braveness to thrive. What we want is a significant and enabling surroundings, and we should work collectively as one staff to create and ship actual affect,” he stated.
Additionally, Rimamskeb Nuhu, the particular assistant to the president on technique and coverage (Workforce Growth), defined that the federal government had recognized three main challenges going through younger Nigerians: the foundational expertise hole, livelihood disconnect, and infrastructure deficit.
“In response, we created DALI, constructed on two pillars: equipping underserved communities with foundational digital expertise and establishing Renewed Hope digital hubs to scale up present authorities efforts,” he famous.
Different stakeholders on the assembly highlighted achievements throughout GenU 9JA’s three pillars, together with Digital Studying and Connectivity, Office Readiness, and Youth Engagement and Empowerment.
Over 10 million youth have already benefited within the first 4 years from flagship initiatives corresponding to FUCAP Campus Ambassadors Programme (with Unilever), Passport to Incomes (P2E) with Microsoft, Inexperienced Rising, and the Ladies’ Schooling and Abilities Partnership (GESP) with FCDO, amongst many others.
The UN resident coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Mohamed Fall, urged stakeholders to “reaffirm dedication to Nigerian youths,” describing them as “essentially the most important property of the nation and the continent.”
“On daily basis, Nigerian youths display their potential. Collectively, we will drive large-scale affect by leveraging our networks to assist initiatives like GenU 9JA — the largest partnership platform for younger individuals,” Fall added.
Additionally, UNICEF Nigeria nation consultant and GenU 9JA co-chair, Ms Wafaa Saeed, stated a significant achievement of the mission was the formal recognition of Youth Company Market (YOMA) as Nigeria’s nationwide youth alternatives aggregator, a one-stop digital platform connecting younger individuals to skilling, innovation, volunteering, and {economic} pathways.
“Youngsters and younger individuals have to be on the centre of every thing we do. This board assembly, coinciding with Worldwide Youth Day, reaffirms our shared perception that younger Nigerians aren’t simply beneficiaries of improvement, they’re drivers of change. By means of GenU 9JA, we’re proving that youth-led transformation at scale is feasible,” Saeed stated.
Additionally, International CEO of UNICEF Technology Limitless, Kevin Frey, lauded Nigeria’s management in youth-focused innovation.
“Nigeria is among the most dynamic international locations globally. The imaginative and prescient, partnerships, and dedication of younger individuals listed below are charting a brand new course for youth ecosystems at scale,” he stated.
Launched in 2021, GenU 9JA is a Public-Non-public Partnership (PPYP) platform concentrating on 20 million Nigerian youth by 2030. It helps their transition from studying to incomes, productive work, and energetic citizenship.
Non-public sector companions, together with Microsoft, Airtel, IHS Towers, Unilever, CISCO, MTN, and Jobberman, are working alongside the Authorities and UNICEF to broaden alternatives in digital training, inexperienced jobs, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.
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