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    • President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina; Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde; and Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Ijaiye, Oyo State, Nigeria, 02 August 2025
    • President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, delivering his speech at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Ijaiye, Oyo State, Nigeria, 02 August 2025
    • President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina; Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde (3rd from left); Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari (2nd from left); Mrs Grace Adesina; Senior Special Adviser to Dr Adesina on Industrialisation, Prof Oyebanji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka (2nd from right); and AfDB Director General for Nigeria, Dr. Abdul Kamara, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Ijaiye, Oyo State, Nigeria, 02 August 2025
    • President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr Akinwumi Adesina and the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) in Ijaiye, Oyo State, Nigeria, 02 August 2025
    • Nigeria Expands Agro-Industrial Footprint with New Processing Hub in Oyo State
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

Nigeria Expands Agro-Industrial Footprint with New Processing Hub in Oyo State

The Oyo site is the third to be developed under the national SAPZ program, and the first in southwest Nigeria

Oyo SAPZ will host up to 40 agro-processing industries, create over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs, and benefit half a million farmers. A great honour to do this on my last official visit to Nigeria as President of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) – Adesina Nigeria has launched a…

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    • Beneficiaries of the business incubator expressed their gratitude to the government and to the African Development Bank
    • Ms. Mouna Diawara, Head of Bank Operations in Burkina Faso, emphasized that the Project for Rural Youth Employment and Skills Development Project (PADEJ-MR) offers a concrete response to the problem of youth unemployment in rural areas
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

Burkina Faso: African Development Bank supports youth entrepreneurship in rural areas

The initiative aims to help young people convert their ideas into viable businesses in promising sectors such as agriculture, agri-food, services, crafts, and new technologies

The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) and the Government of Burkina Faso launched the third phase of the incubator program of the Support Project for Youth Employment and Skills Development in Rural Areas (PADEJ-MR in the French acronym) on July 15, 2025, in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Ms. Franceline…

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    • YEIBS Launch: President of the Republic of Liberia, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., and the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina, launch the Liberia Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank at a ceremony in Monrovia, July 22, 2025
    • YEIBS Launch: President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi Adesina (4th from left), Bank Group Director General for West Africa, Lamin Barrow, and attendees at the launch of the Liberia YEIB
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Hope for Liberia’s youth as country pioneers African Development Bank-financed Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank

The Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Banks will promote private sector-led inclusive economic development, by creating entrepreneurship opportunities for young Africans aged 18-35

Program will turn job seekers into job creators – Liberian President Boakai The future of Liberia’s youth cannot be left to hustling – Dr. Adesina Liberia has become the first country to launch an African Development Bank Group initiative (www.AfDB.org) that will help tackle youth unemployment among African youth. President…

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    • 115,000 ECOA induction cookers will be distributed to households across Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda with support from the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) supports electric cooking expansion across three African nations

This program makes clean cooking appliances more affordable and accessible by prefinancing induction cookers and recovering costs through carbon credit sales in the voluntary market

The Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA), managed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) (www.AfDB.org), is tackling charcoal dependence in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia with a $4 million reimbursable grant. This grant will fund the Burn Electric Cooking Expansion Program (BEEP), deploying 115,000 Burn ECOA Electric Induction Cookers to provide…

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    • Koffi Kouakou Charles sharpens his machete before heading to his field
    • Koffi Kouakou Charles in his field in Abokouassikro
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In Mékro, in central Côte d'Ivoire, sustainable agriculture is giving hope to an entire community

The project is focused on three agricultural crops: yams, cassava and vegetables, as well as traditional poultry farming, and aims to improve the living conditions of 60,000 vulnerable people

Day breaks in Mékro, some 300 km from Abidjan, in central Côte d'Ivoire. The first rays of sun announce the start of what promises to be another sweltering day in a region known for its intense heat. Some women return from the backwaters bringing water to supply the family beehives.…

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    • African Development Bank Approves $17 Million to Rebuild Conflict-Affected Northern Mozambique
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African Development Bank Approves $17 Million to Rebuild Conflict-Affected Northern Mozambique

Project to create 24,000 jobs and benefit over 100,000 people in Cabo Delgado

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has approved a $17 million grant to support recovery and resilient-building efforts in conflict-affected northern Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province. The funding will support the Resilient Investment for Socio-Economic Empowerment, Peace, and Security (RISE-PS) Project, a bold new initiative to tackle…

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    • Cashews are now Burkina Faso's third largest agricultural export after cotton and sesame
    • Christiane Koné, a processor in Toussiana, purchased six automatic shelling machines
    • Arzouma Zougouri, a producer in Orodara, was able to further equip his processing unit
    • Cashew processors at work
    • Adama Sombié, a cashew producer, was given a two-hectare woodlot in Bérégadougou
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

In Burkina Faso, cashew cultivation is a lever for sustainable and inclusive rural development

The project mobilised the necessary resources to contribute to the sustainable transformation of the Cascades, Hauts Bassins and South-West regions, with significant participation from women

Launched in 2017 and completed in 2024, the Cashew Development Support Project in the Comoé Basin for REDD+ (PADA/REDD+) exemplified sustainable development. The project combined poverty reduction, ecological transition and the empowerment of women and young people, achieving a remarkable implementation rate of 95 percent.  It has revitalised the cashew…

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    • Beni Cial Yumba Musoya sits in class with other students
    • Marie Samba, who left the artisanal mines, now raises hens and quails. Here she is preparing feed for her poultry
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

From Mine Shafts to Classrooms: How a Cobalt Mining Town is Reclaiming Childhood and Rebuilding Hope

8,200 young people formerly working in the mines are being supported to integrate into school, vocational training, or income-generating activities

Thirteen-year-old Beni Cial Yumba Musoya used to spend her days scavenging for cobalt under the scorching sun in the artisanal mines of Kolwezi. Today, she dreams of donning a white coat and saving lives. "I want to be a doctor," she says, smiling shyly from her wooden desk at Kasanda…

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    • Inside the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System
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    • Established in Kigali as the first U.S. university campus in Africa and funded by the African Development Fund, Carnegie Mellon University Africa offers ICT master’s programs and promotes female enrollment through targeted scholarships
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Source: African Development Bank Group (AfDB) |

World Youth Skills Day: African Development Bank to introduce systems reforms to prioritize investing in Africa’s youth

The Bank has just launched a pilot version of the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System in readiness for the full implementation in 2026

The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), in partnership with the International Labour Organization, has launched a transformative system to mainstream youth employment, skills development, and entrepreneurship across its investments.  The approach, called the Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System, is aligned with the Bank's latest Ten-Year Strategy, which places Africa’s young…

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    • Energy transition programme beneficiaries install solar panels in a South African community
    • Three young women participate in a National Business Initiative skills training program, gaining practical trade skills to support South Africa's economy
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African Development Bank awards $1 million grant to support green skills development for South Africans, with focus on youth

The National Business Initiative, an independent, business movement of nearly 100 South African and multi-national companies, will implement AfDB’s $1 million FAPA grant

The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org), through the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), has awarded a $1 million grant to South Africa’s National Business Initiative (NBI) to strengthen efforts to build a dynamic, demand-led skills ecosystem that enables South Africans, particularly young people, to access emerging job opportunities in…