Nigeria

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AfCFTA: How Intellectual Property Laws Can Help Create Jobs

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AfCFTA: How Intellectual Property Laws Can Help Create Jobs

The Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is ambitious. Bringing together 55 African Union member states, it will form the world’s largest free trade area by the number of participating countries. The Agreement covers trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights and competition policy. The Phase II negotiations of the agreement hold many opportunities, particularly for Intellectual Property (IP). A strong IP regime across the continent will facilitate the growth of MSMEs and will lead to increased job creation especially for women and the youth.

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Social, Environmental Factors Seen Behind Africa’s Low COVID-19 Cases

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Social, Environmental Factors Seen Behind Africa’s Low COVID-19 Cases

The pandemic has largely been in a younger age group and has been more pronounced in a few countries, suggesting country-specific aspects are driving the pattern of disease and death. COVID-19 transmission in Africa has been marked by relatively fewer infections, which have been on the decline over the past months, owing to a variety of socio-ecological factors as well as early and strong public health measures taken by governments across the region.

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Shedding Light On The Hopes And Challenges Of Algerian Youth

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Shedding Light On The Hopes And Challenges Of Algerian Youth

Injaz(Arabic for achievement) is patterned after a US-based youth organization, Junior Achievement, which operates in many African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania, as well as in other regions of the world. Ms. Jaber, the Jordanian-born executive who now lives in Algeria, wanted to offer young people in Africa the opportunity to develop their business leadership skills, including business planning, critical thinking, and effective communication.

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Why Is International Youth Day Important?

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Why Is International Youth Day Important?

How do we shift our systems and mechanisms for the opportunity to support youth post-pandemic? There is a lot of collaboration and information sharing among young people and between countries. There is a borderless quality to youth engagement and activity going on right now that is exciting and offers a lot of potentials. Even though we're experiencing a pandemic, there is so much room for youth and PYD, for youth to step up and lead and articulate what kind of future they want. We need to keep this momentum going.

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A Healthier Future Starts Today

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A Healthier Future Starts Today

“In my work, I strive to improve the health, hygiene and well-being of women, children and infants, especially those at the base of the pyramid. The future of Africa will be determined by her young people. A lot of young Africans are changing the narrative through their work across the continent. It’s that can-do spirit that inspires me. As he sees it, it’s up to young leaders to advocate for change in their communities, setting the stage for a better, brighter future.”

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It’s Invisible, But Devastating: Mental Illness In Nigeria

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It’s Invisible, But Devastating: Mental Illness In Nigeria

In fact, it is estimated that 5.4% of the population in the African region suffers from a depressive disorder and just over 3%, an anxiety disorder, according to a 2017 study by the World Health Organization (PDF, 1.7MB).To address this, Rukayya is working to educate her peers about the emotional intricacy of illnesses such as anxiety that are unseen and, as she explains, unnoticed. To this, she adds that mental health advocates suffering from anxiety or depression should take care of themselves before attempting to change others’ minds.

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Meet The Man Standing Up For Orphans In Nigeria

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Meet The Man Standing Up For Orphans In Nigeria

“Years ago I visited an orphanage in southwest Nigeria; that’s where I met Ruth, a 10-year-old girl with a hunger-stricken frame and infected with ringworm. Ruth was one of 50 children in that tiny orphanage. These kids were in desperate need of food and medical help.”After meeting Ruth, Olugbenga began assembling volunteers to help orphans across the state. In November 2019, Olugbenga took his initiative a step further and organized a YALILearns session on financial planning.

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A Free Press Starts With An Open Mind

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A Free Press Starts With An Open Mind

“My advice to other young leaders organizing in-person or virtual sessions is to plan early and be prepared for setbacks,” Segun says, reflecting on the technical difficulties he faced on the day of his session, among them a power outage. It’s important to give your audience an experience that will spur them to act and to act now,” That sense of urgency is vital, as you only have one chance to make an impact on participants. Segun found over the course of his session and other work with young adults a surprising openness to new perspectives and a willingness to entertain new ideas in a spirit of collaboration.

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Stuck At Home? Share Your Skills With Others.

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Stuck At Home? Share Your Skills With Others.

“I don’t just want to educate my peers about these goals, but I also want to help them create the innovations to achieve them,” Oluwayomi says.I hope my YALILearns session motivated participants to be innovative, to broaden their thinking and to better understand the problems in their society.For Oluwayomi, an inspiring leader is interested in building others up, in highlighting their strengths and in helping them to overcome their weaknesses.

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Four Ways To Use Your Business For Good

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Four Ways To Use Your Business For Good

Today Deborah, a 2019 Mandela Washington Fellow and creative director of the KidsABILITY Initiative, is applying her talents to help the most vulnerable in Nigeria. In this blog post, Deborah shares four steps any budding professional can take to build a better future today and for years to come.