By Anozie Egole,
FATE Foundation and Youth Business International have begun the implementation of the Future Makers Project aimed at tackling inequality and promoting greater economic inclusion for young people in underserved communities, especially females and the visually impaired.
Earlier this year, FATE Foundation had entered into a partnership with YBI to implement the Future Makers Project that will run for two years (January 2022 – January 2024), with eight cohorts across four states, namely Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, and Ekiti.
The Future Makers Project is a global initiative, supported by Standard Chartered Foundation to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion for young people. It is meant to also build their capacity to access jobs and opportunities that will close the inequality gap.
A statement by FATE Foundation read in part, “At the end of the first year, 2022, FATE Foundation implemented four cohorts of 40 entrepreneurs each across three states (Lagos, Oyo, and Ekiti), and the key activities that were implemented during this programme are enterprise trainings, business formalisation, mentoring support, advisory, business support and placement for youth entrepreneurs with already existing entrepreneurs/ businesses in their respective field for a four to 12-week period to get a firsthand experience of running a successful business.”
The Executive Director, FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi, was quoted as saying, “The Future Makers Programme was developed as part of the FATE Foundation’s Aspiring Entrepreneurs Programme to enable aspiring entrepreneurs to transition from the Ideation stage to the start of their business with practical enterprise development knowledge, skills and support needed.
“Also, to ensure inclusivity in this project, we collaborated with other partners, SightSavers Nigeria and Project Enable Africa to provide business and entrepreneurial support to Persons with Disabilities but not limited to those with visual, hearing, and physical impairment and those with developmental disabilities.”
YBI’s Director of Development and Programmes, Emilia McElvenney, said, “YBI is delighted to see the huge impact our member FATE Foundation is having through our Futuremakers programme in Nigeria, and in particular their support for traditionally underserved young female entrepreneurs. YBI is about to enter our third year of partnering with Standard Chartered Foundation on projects across eight markets globally, including Nigeria.
