At the Africa Projects Development Centre (APDC) Group, we believe that addressing the dual challenges of youth unemployment and poverty requires more than just isolated capacity development; it demands a coordinated national strategy. Yesterday, an APDC delegation led by our Managing Director, Dr Chiji Ojukwu, convened a high-level strategic meeting with the Director General of the Forum of Former Deputy Governors of Nigeria (FFDGN), Hon. Kenneth Ibe-Kalu, and his executive team. The Focus? Nation-building frameworks through the sustainable empowerment of women and youth throughout the federation. 

During the session, our Director of Programmes, Policy, and Partnerships, Maaruf Yakub, delivered a comprehensive presentation on APDC's proven intervention model. To date, this model has impacted over 9,000 beneficiaries across Agribusiness, the Creative Arts, and the Circular Economy across Africa. With a 70% enterprise sustainability rate, we demonstrated that our impact is measured not just in participation numbers, but in the lasting economic independence of our graduates.

A Key highlight of the meeting was the proposed collaboration between APDC and FFDGN centred on three strategic pillars: the regional replication of the APDC model across Nigeria’s geopolitical zones to reverse rural–urban migration, the establishment of a Youth Enterprise Fund to provide incubation-backed financing for emerging entrepreneurs, and the synchronisation of our vocational programmes with state-level constituency projects to ensure maximum reach.

The FFDGN leadership commended APDC’s transparent and scalable approach, labelling it as a "critical intervention" for Nigeria’s socio-economic evolution. Partnering with the FFDGN allows us to move beyond individual success stories and scale our impact into a cohesive national strategy, ensuring young Nigerians have the stable economic floor they need to thrive. We are now eager to move into the design phase of a joint framework dedicated to translating these high-level discussions into measurable, nationwide impact. 

#Agribusiness #YouthEmpowerment #NationBuilding #APDCGroup #FFDGN #SustainableDevelopment #NigeriaEconomy #StrategicPartnership #EconomicGrowth