have access to employment in the agricultural sector by 2022, through a partnership between MasterCard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy and Babban Gona.
Babban Gona is a financially sustainable social enterprise which is involved in agricultural franchising across Northern Nigeria.
The partnership intends to empower individuals, predominantly the youth and women, involved in the agricultural value chain. It seeks to advance agribusinesses in the West African nation by using technology to provide training and education, cost-effective financing, as well as marketing and harvesting support services for smallholders. MasterCard, together with Babban Gona hopes that these products and services would enable smallholder farmers overcome challenges of low economies of scale and supply-side fragmentation.
The partnership has been in the forefront of strengthening employment in Nigeria, having created over 80,000 jobs in 202o alone. Of these opportunities, 70 per cent were for youth while 33 per cent were for women. With a recent diversification into rice farming, among other crops, in over 80,000 acres under cultivation, more than 38,000 farmers, including 18,500 women were empowered across six states in Nigeria.
Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head of MasterCard Foundation Nigeria highlighted the significance of the Agricultural sector in creating opportunities for the youth not only in Nigeria, but all across the African continent. “Agriculture is among the most viable potential sources of employment for young people in Africa,” she noted. “We are excited to be part of the process of empowering Nigerian youths, especially women, and its overall impact within this rural community. Our partnership with Babban Gona will serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurial reorientation, job creation, and sustainable livelihoods for smallholder farmers.”
Meanwhile, Kola Masha, Managing Director of Babban Gona noted that his organisation’s goal is 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,” he added. “We are fortunate to have MasterCard Foundation’s unwavering support on this journey; working together we can coordinate actions and make much needed investments in agriculture to ensure resilience among smallholders in the post-COVID-19 era.”
