Why Nigeria's Youth Employment Efforts Are Falling Short

On the fifth floor of the ITF Building in Iponri, Surulere, guests at ALX's Lagos office gathered around tables. Each group tackled the same question. "Nigeria spends real money to prepare its young people for work, why do so few of them get sustainable jobs or start new businesses?"

The meeting, called From Funding to Outcomes, brought together foundations, NGOs, and development partners from all over Nigeria. Ruby Igwe, Regional Manager for West and Central Africa at ALX, hosted the event. She believes the answer lies in a part of the process that often gets overlooked.

She said, "There is real money going into youth skills and employability in this country, but too many programmes do not deliver the jobs and the change they promised. They rarely fail at the funding stage, because they lose their way in the middle, in how they are delivered, and that is the gap we want to close."

That middle part where things go wrong is where the real work gets tough. A programme can get funding, launch, and get publicity but still fail to reach the young people it was intended for. Igwe argues that funders need partners who can help bridge the gap between the money given and the job outcomes.

The session encouraged interaction, allowing attendees to share challenges and possible solutions. They also used the networking time to continue discussions.

Participants talked about what works in youth development and where programmes fall short. The conversation also focused on young Nigerians themselves. Some expressed their readiness to join structured learning platforms, while others mentioned a lack of motivation to study.

During the session, ALX asked partners how to make its learning platform easier for more young people to access. ALX is positioning itself as a technical, delivery, and implementation partner for any organization looking to run youth programmes at scale. It highlighted its success in Nigeria, where over 150,000 young people have completed its programmes.

Commenting on the event, Igwe said, "We did not bring people from different sectors into one room by accident. No single organization can solve this alone. When foundations, NGOs, development partners, and implementers work together, we can reach far more young people than any of us could on our own, and we can build the capacity to serve them well."

The message was clear for funders in the room. ALX believes that collaboration would expand the reach of its work and boost its capacity alongside partners. This would help more young people benefit from these efforts.

ALX is part of the African Leadership Group, which has spent over 20 years improving access to opportunity for young Africans. ALX reports that 347,100 learners have graduated from its programmes across the continent. It states that 257,900 young people have found work. This includes 154,300 graduates in wage jobs and 43,400 who are running businesses or freelancing. ALX says that its alumni entrepreneurs have created over 60,000 jobs for others.

The support does not end after training. Graduates have access to mentorship, and ALX holds regular grant readiness sessions to help them prepare for funding opportunities.

ALX Enterprise, the business-to-business part of ALX, also focuses on measurable results. It works with organizations across Africa to develop leaders, strengthen teams, and build digital skills. Each engagement starts with a consultation to address the client's specific challenges. Results are measured against the changes agreed upon at the start.

Whether this collaboration happens will depend on what the partners decide to do next. Igwe framed this as a question for the next step.

She asked, "Our question to partners is simple. What is working, what is not, and how can we help? If you are funding young people, we want to make sure that funding ends in a job, a business, or a career."