The Problem

Underemployment and unemployment are prevalent issues in Nigeria that impact over 50 million young people. These issues are particularly persistent in the northern regions of the country, where there is a high unmet demand for financial services due to many rural community members having either low digital literacy or no access to smartphones. Despite northern Nigerian communities producing 80% of Nigeria’s food, it is home to the highest number of unemployed and underemployed young poor people, especially women, in the country. Some of these women face additional challenges due to their families, husbands and community members preventing them from working. All this has resulted in generational poverty in the region. Especially in rural communities, childcare and domestic work is seen as the women’s responsibility, thus limiting their opportunities to work regular hours.  

Additionally, even though young Nigerians are interested in working in agricultural and technological sectors, many lack the sufficient skills. Smallholder farmers also face challenges in the agricultural sector, such as the lack of agricultural extension services related to climate mitigation and adaptation, inefficient supply of quality inputs, and limited market access.  

The Solution

To tackle these challenges, the project aims to empower 1,500 low-skill youths from rural communities, of which 50% are women. The empowerment is done by integrating them into the agricultural and financial sector to provide rural agrarian communities with access to financial, market, and climate services through platforms used by Thrive Agric, namely Tradr, AOS, and Crust. Tradr and Crust are both platforms that employ agents on a commission. Tradr agents facilitate the movement of traded commodities, while Crust provides financially excluded farmers and farming communities with bank accounts and debit cards to conduct transactions digitally or through an agent. AOS agents onboard farmers and provide them with input loans, extension services, and a linkage to markets for their produce.  

Utilizing these platforms, ThriveAgric will implement the following objectives to increase youth employment:  

1) 1,400 new jobs created for rural youths, of which 53% for women, as Tradr and Crust Agents across 5 states. The activities to be carried out include community entry and awareness creation; youth engagement and gender advocacy program; recruitment, onboarding, and technical skills training of agents on business management and providing community banking services; providing agents with technical tools; and agent deployment.

2) Improving jobs for 100 AOS agents, of which 20% will be women, to become climate champions. This role aims to reduce the impact of climate change on smallholder farmers and farming communities.  

3) The project will also advocate for women’s inclusion within rural communities and provide women with new and dignified job opportunities. As taking part in the project may present young women with personal or social challenges, the project will offer flexible work arrangements, guidance on balancing work and family responsibilities, and will engage community leaders to create acceptance for working women.