Youth unemployment and development are pertinent issues in the economic hub of Lagos State and consequently, young women are disproportionately affected. According to a recent report, Africa has the highest number of young people in the world, with 226 million individuals, of which 50.1% are female. The continent currently makes up one-fifth of the global population and is projected to represent one-third of the world’s population by 2050.

The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) posits that almost 4 million Nigerians were out of jobs in 2017 alone with Lagos State having the highest number of unemployed youths. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that the unemployment rate in the State increased from 17.8% in 2017 to 37.14% in 2020.

Unfortunately, a significant proportion of women and youth are not gainfully employed due to a shortage of formal job opportunities, insufficient skills, lack of resources and access to trainings and education. These women also encounter additional challenges such as less time to work because of their domestic and care responsibilities, discriminatory social and cultural norms and marginalization of minority groups.

To address some of these challenges, the African Fashion Development and Empowerment Centre (AFDEC), through funding from The Coca-Cola Foundation (TCCF) launched the AWAMBI project, with a vision to uplift and empower about 250 women with entrepreneurial and vocational skills across communities in three Local Government Areas of Lagos State, Nigeria.

AWAMBI, traditionally pronounced “A wa ni bi” in the Yoruba language, translates to “We are here”. The programme ran from January through March 2023 and successfully contributed to the acceleration of the growth of selected African women entrepreneurs in Eti-Osa, Alimosho, and Ikorodu Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos.

The initiative was created to provide access to networking, mentorship, and internship opportunities for young women in technology, and to educate and support young women in building sustainable livelihood options through entrepreneurship and relevant skills acquisition training. By connecting these women to networks and mentors, the project has helped them maximize their potentials through productive, income-generating activities, that will foster a better future for themselves, their families, and their entire community.

At the completion of the project, 308 women were directly trained and 1540 others received indirect training and social benefits with top participants provided with start-up kits. In addition, the outstanding participants from the “Tech For Creatives” module provided expertise in their new skills on virtual and paid content/social media management in a one-month supervised work placement with enterprises linked to them by AFDEC.

Evidently, the project is yielding a sustainable return on impact investment and is poised for future project continuity, as it has already achieved its goal of job creation and promotion of sustainable development solutions that contribute to positive change in Africa.

Some course modules offered during the programme include book-keeping, accounting, inventory and financial management, accessing funding, business registration, taxation, online and offline pricing, customer relationship management, marketing strategy, sales conversion and service delivery, amongst others. Previously faced with significant challenges and multiple hardships, the programme participants were met with renewed purpose following the completion of the programme.

The Coca-Cola Foundation continues to support transformative ideas and institutions that address complex global challenges and that leave a measurable and lasting impact. The Foundation’s giving is focused on sustainable access to safe water, climate resilience and disaster risk preparedness and response, circular economy, economic empowerment, and causes impacting its hometown community. Since its inception in 1984, The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded grants of over $1.5 billion in service of its mandate to strengthen communities across the world.