The BATN Foundation has called for sustained investment in Nigeria’s youth population, saying greater access to skills, finance, mentorship and entrepreneurship opportunities remains critical to unlocking economic growth, food security and national development.

The Foundation made the call yesterday to mark the 2026 International Youth Day, themed, “Different Contexts, Common Aspirations,” noting that despite differences in the social, economic and geographical circumstances of young Nigerians, they share common aspirations for education, employment, entrepreneurship and meaningful participation in national development.

General Manager, BATN Foundation, Oludare Odusanya, said Nigeria’s youthful population represented a significant economic asset that could drive innovation, enterprise and transformation if provided with the right opportunities and resources.

Odusanya said: “International Youth Day reminds us that young people, regardless of their background or circumstances, share a common desire to build productive lives, create opportunities and contribute meaningfully to society.

“The responsibility of governments, development institutions and the private sector is to create the enabling environment that allows these aspirations to flourish.”

According to him, youth empowerment should extend beyond conventional access to education to include practical skills development, entrepreneurship support, mentorship and access to finance.

He stressed that such interventions would enable young Nigerians to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses and create employment for others.

The Foundation said its focus on youth development formed part of its broader commitment to economic inclusion and sustainable agriculture, with more than N5 billion invested in development initiatives over the past two decades.
It said its interventions had reached more than 1.7 million Nigerians and empowered over 300,000 smallholder farmers through various programmes.

A significant component of the Foundation’s youth-focused interventions is the development of agricultural entrepreneurs through its Graduate Agripreneur Programme (GAP) and Farmers for the Future (F4F).
The programmes provide young people with technical training, mentorship, enterprise development support and access to business opportunities, with the objective of creating a new generation of entrepreneurs capable of contributing to Nigeria’s food production and employment needs.

In 2026, the Foundation awarded N25.5 million in equity-free grants to 17 young agripreneurs from three Nigerian universities under the Graduate Agripreneur Programme.

The grants, according to the Foundation, are intended to help beneficiaries develop and scale innovative agribusiness ventures while strengthening the pipeline of young entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

The Foundation is also implementing the seventh cohort of the Farmers for the Future programme in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

The initiative targets corps members with innovative agricultural business ideas and provides them with training, mentorship and enterprise development support.

This year, six participants are expected to receive a combined N10 million in equity-free grants to establish or expand their agribusiness ventures.

Odusanya said the investments should be viewed not merely as social interventions but as contributions to Nigeria’s economic future.

“Young people are not simply beneficiaries of development. They are innovators, problem-solvers, entrepreneurs and job creators,” he said.

“Every investment made in youth today strengthens communities, stimulates economic activity and secures the future of our nation.”

The Foundation urged governments, development agencies, educational institutions and private sector organisations to deepen collaboration and increase investments in youth-focused programmes.

It specifically called for greater attention to skills development, access to affordable finance, innovation and sustainable livelihood opportunities.

The call comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with youth unemployment, rising demand for skills and the need to create productive opportunities for its expanding working-age population.

For development experts, unlocking the economic potential of young Nigerians will require coordinated interventions that move beyond training to provide access to capital, markets, technology and mentorship.

The Foundation said Nigeria could convert its demographic advantage into sustainable economic growth if young people were equipped with the tools and opportunities required to become productive participants in the economy.

It reaffirmed its commitment to working with government and other stakeholders to expand opportunities for young Nigerians, particularly in agriculture and entrepreneurship, as part of efforts to strengthen economic inclusion and national prosperity