Our Director of Programmes, Policy & Partnerships, Maaruf Yakub, took the stage as a panellist in the session "Competitive Food Grains Transformation: Overcoming Challenges Associated with Youth Inclusion in Agro-food Systems Development," moderated by Phiona Katushabe (AAIN Uganda).

When asked about lessons from business that could assist national strategies to make it easier for youths to enter business, Maaruf highlighted critical challenges facing young agripreneurs:

• Infrastructure Gaps: Poor infrastructure remains a major barrier preventing young entrepreneurs from scaling their operations and accessing markets effectively.
• Energy Crisis: Particularly in Nigeria, the lack of affordable green energy solutions leaves small businesses unable to compete. A small maize milling owner, for instance, cannot access the energy needed to produce at competitive volumes and margins, leading to business failure.
• Crippling Interest Rates: While large corporations like Dangote can secure loans with single-digit interest rates, small businesses face prohibitive borrowing costs. This disparity is especially critical in the maize industry, where local businesses cannot compete with global industries due to limited access to affordable capital.

Maaruf called on the investment sector to step up and create a more enabling environment for youth and women in agribusiness, emphasizing that without addressing these fundamental challenges, young entrepreneurs will continue to struggle against established players in the market.

The investment sector must prioritize creating an enabling environment where youth and women can compete on equal footing. Only then can we unlock the full potential of Africa's next generation of agricultural leaders and achieve the food security and economic growth our continent desperately needs.

#AAICE2025 #YouthInAgriculture #Agribusiness #APDC #Nigeria #AfricanDevelopment.