AgriFood Youth Opportunity Lab to help youth access employment

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

jmalstrom via pixabay

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 agri-food system.

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

When:

Monday, 15 May 2017 from 4pm - 5.30pm
Press conference at 5.30pm.

Where:

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel
Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island

Who:

• Alemayehu Konde Koira, senior programme manager, Youth Livelihoods, The MasterCard Foundation

• Dr. Julie Howard, Agrifood Youth Opportunity Lab director and senior advisor, associate provost and dean, International Studies and Programmes, MSU

• Dr. Adesoji Adelaja, Hannah Distinguished professor in Land Policy, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, MSU

• 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)

• Bunmi Akinyemiju, managing director and CEO, Venture Garden Group Nigeria

Journalists are encouraged to register by 2pm on Friday, 12 May 2017.