The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nigeria is scaling up its intervention programmes to foster innovation,entrepreneurship, and employability in the southern region of the country.
At a press briefing ahead of the Akwa Ibom Tech Week in Uyo on Friday, Ifeyinwa Egwaoje,Project Lead for Young Africa Innovate (YAI), highlighted the programme’s aim of discovering and nurturing solution providers among the youth.
According to her,the initiative will train participants to build sustainable businesses and supports them in launching scalable products.
Egwaoje maintains that the YAI programme had recently conducted a fully residential bootcamp in Akwa Ibom for innovative youths. “This initiative is designed to build capacity in labour employability, innovative problem-solving, and entrepreneurship, empowering young Nigerians to address societal challenges through viable business solutions,” she said.
In addition to YAI, the Nigeria Jubilee Fellowship Programme NJFP) targets the employability gap in the Nigerian workforce. Since its inception, over 500 alumni and 646 fellows have been placed in companies across the South-South region. Under the programme, fellows receive a monthly stipend of ₦100,000 for one year while gaining hands-on industry experience in their assigned organizations.
The UNDP’s third major intervention, the UNIPOD Programme, establishes innovation hubs within Nigerian universities. These centers provide students with resources to incubate ideas and businesses while pursuing their education. The goal is to produce viable, market-ready ventures before graduation.
Dara Caulcrick-Odebo, Partnerships and Ecosystem Engagement Lead at the UNDP Innovation Centre, explained the interconnected nature of the programmes.
“The UNIPOD programme allows students to dream, build, and incubate their ideas while in school. YAI accelerates and funds their businesses, while NJFP creates a reliable talent pipeline, placing fellows with them to work,” she added.
