Israel: We’ve launched project to help create 1million jobs for Nigerians

Speaking at a Press briefing in Abuja on Thursday ahead of the commencement of the third edition of the project, the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, said the project targets young Nigerians.

“A week and a half ago, President [Ahmed Bola] Tinubu was inaugurated as the new president of Nigeria and one of the key focuses of his inauguration is improving and strengthening Nigeria’s economy.

“He spoke specifically on a number of targets towards improving investment in Nigeria…and also to create one million jobs in the digital economy.

“Israel is the world leader in the digital economy and is the world leader in extractive investment. We want to partner with President Tinubu and his administration to help create the environment for investment and to help create one million jobs in the digital economy.

“The i-FAIR programme for innovators and entrepreneurs is exactly one of those programmes that will help to create a million jobs in the digital economy, that will help to create investment, that will help to create a new generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs, Nigerian innovators so that Nigeria and Nigeria can create more job, can create more wealth and create a greater economy”, he said.

On his part, Saron Paz, the COO of Innov8, said the third edition of the project is targeting 50 people who will go ahead to train others.

i-FAIR is an initiative of the Embassy of the State of Israel in Nigeria in collaboration with the Office of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

With the mandate to empower innovators, inventors, entrepreneurs and venture creators in Nigeria, i-FAIR was born out of the need to tackle local challenges with innovative made-in-Nigeria solutions; for the overall goal of inspiring Nigeria to become a start-up nation.

Through the 6-month program, i-FAIR provides participants with the necessary resources and support to transform their ideas into innovations and sustainable ventures that can create jobs and generate wealth for Nigerians and Nigeria.

The Israeli embassy has successfully implemented two editions of i-FAIR, with a total of 63 Fellows and 56 prototypes developed.

At the heart of i-FAIR is Innov8 Hub, the implementation partner of i-FAIR, which provides access to their innovation hub, facilities, technology, mentorship and expertise.