Nigerian youths have begun to enjoy the benefits of being part of the forum that unites young people across the continent after Nigeria became the 31st African country to join the Youthconneckt Africa hub.
According to a statement from the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, young Nigerians are already flying the Nigerian flag with pride on the continental stage.
As the curtains were drawn, in Kigali, Rwanda, on the week-long summit activities which involved learning, networking, dinners, concerts and charting brilliant courses for youth across the continent, Nigeria youth at the forum never failed to make their country proud.
Through an application call, which saw over 2,000 applications from all corners of Africa and over 500 from Nigeria, De-Rabacon Plastics owned by Mr Yolo Bakumor Smith emerged as the only Nigerian outfit selected to pitch at the summit, resulting in a second place finish at the finals and a take home prize of two thousand dollars.
De-Rabacon Plastics, which is a Nigerian owned social enterprise, tackles the problem of plastic pollution by transforming them into interlocking bricks and household items as a sustainable way to reclaim these plastics from drainages, landfills and ocean bodies; which are currently huge contributors to flooding, air pollution and other environmental challenges.
As a social enterprise, 60% of De-Rabacon Plastics’ profit goes into social impact projects like training and empowerment of youths and women and has directly impacted the lives of 2,000 persons to date.
The ministry also noted that Nigerian youth are excited to be part of the Youthconneckt Africa family as processes are underway by the federal government to establish the Youthconneckt Nigeria Chapter.
The Youthconnekt Africa hub whose vision is connecting the African youth for socio-economic transformation is steadfastly working towards their goals of strengthening the youth empowerment ecosystem by equipping existing initiatives with technical and financial resources, knowledge sharing and improved ownership of the youth’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
