Oando Foundation has unveiled a Green Youth Upskilling Programme (GYUP), aimed to equip young Nigerians with sustainable and future-ready skills in technical and entrepreneurial expertise.
Tonia Uduimoh, head of Oando Foundation, in her address, said the initiative is set to equip a new generation of changemakers with the tools, mindset, and vision to lead Nigeria into a more sustainable future.
“The programme was developed in response to two pressing needs, empowering our youth and driving climate action. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2024), 12.5 percent of Nigerian youth aged 15 to 24 are not in education, employment, or training.
“The International Labour Organization estimates that Nigeria’s green economy could create over two million jobs by 2030. The Green Youth Upskilling Programme is our strategic response to this opportunity gap,” Uduimoh said.
She explained that over the next nine months, the foundation will equip 25 outstanding youth selected from over 8,000 applicants, with practical skills in renewable energy, sustainable waste management, climate technology, and green enterprise development.
“They will receive hands-on training, mentorship, and seed funding to explore climate-smart businesses and projects that address real-world challenges.
“These green champions before you were chosen not just for their passion, but for their potential to shape the future of Nigeria’s circular economy,” she stressed.
Uduimoh emphasised that the GYUP aligns with Oando Foundation’s current LEARNOVATE strategy which aims to foster learning and skills development, providing better life opportunities for children and youth through equitable, quality and climate-sensitive education.
“Leveraging a strategic partnership with the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre, we are creating a scalable, replicable model that empowers young people, supports climate action, and fuels economic inclusion,” she said.
Bankole Oloruntoba, chief executive officer at Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC), described the programme as a catalyst to bridging the gap towards building an emerging green economy in Nigeria.
“For us to be able to build a thriving ecosystem in the green economy space, and impact climate change on the positive in the long run, we need to create a sustainable model to power the green economy market.
“We need to go beyond the rhetoric of talking about unemployment without taking steps to address it,” he said.
Oloruntoba said the organisation chose the green economy because it is globally the existing and alternative economy to all other types of economies.
“Green economy offers a whole lot of opportunities, there’s a need for us to build the kinds of systems that we think can empower a global economy early,” he noted.
He reiterated that the 25 youth selected in the inaugural cohort will receive nine months training, after which 10 will be selected for grants.
“We want you to learn at every given flashpoint within the value chain. There will be a system on how granting will be done; and that will be communicated while the programme progresses,” he said.
Everest Akpo, the chief executive officer at Ivarest Global, a plastic recycling firm, which is one of the technical partners urged the trainees to optimize the opportunity to learn more about the business.
Peju Ibekwe, the chief executive officer at Sterling One Foundation counseled the trainees to have an inspiring vision for themselves bearing in mind that challenges are normal to life.
“It’s not what you learned but what you apply that stands you out in the business world,” she said.
Nwaike Johnpaul, one of the trainees, who is going for solar energy entrepreneurial upskilling said he looks forward to perfecting his skills in green energy space.
