Business
AfDB Pledges $100m For Nigerian Youth Bank, Targets $2bn For Youth-Led Businesses
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has announced a $100 million commitment towards the creation of the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, aimed at catalysing $2 billion in investments to support over 38,000 youth-led businesses across Africa.
Adesina made the announcement during a televised interview on national television, noting that the initiative is part of the AfDB’s wider strategy to harness the continent’s youth population—over 465 million people aged 15 to 35—as a powerful economic engine.
He also expressed concern over the growing trend of youth emigration from Nigeria and other African nations, commonly referred to as the Japa phenomenon.
Adesina described it as a “big loss” for the continent and a sign of the failure to adequately invest in the potential of Africa’s young people.
“Young people don’t need freebies,” Adesina declared.
“They don’t need people saying: ‘I just want to give you an empowerment programme’. They have skills, they have knowledge, they have entrepreneurship capacity. They want to turn their ideas into great businesses.”
According to the former Nigerian agriculture minister, Africa’s youth crisis is not one of numbers, but of opportunity.
“We have over 465 million young people between the ages of 15 and 35,” he said.
“The problem is not their population, it is what you do with your population; how you skill them up.”
Adesina argued that the exodus of young Africans to Europe, North America, and Asia is the result of a financial system that neglects them.
“The whole of the (banking) system is not designed for young people,” he lamented.
“The commercial banking system and the financial system failed young people in Africa. Why is it suddenly a surprise to us that they are leaving? It’s because you are not putting anything down for them.”
In response, the AfDB, he revealed, has launched the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Bank, specifically designed to provide access to capital for young Africans with viable business plans. The newly approved Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank, he noted, is the first such effort under this initiative.
“We just approved $100 million to set up the Nigerian Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank,” Adesina revealed.
“The goal is to mobilise $2 billion of investment for more than 38,000 businesses of young people in Africa.”
He criticised traditional empowerment schemes that hand out small stipends, arguing that such approaches are ineffective in unlocking long-term potential.
He said: “They don’t need N5,000 or N10,000. You want to create youth-based wealth. If you don’t, who are the people who will pay the taxes in the future? Where are you going to get the capital mobilisation in the future?”
For Adesina, the stakes are high. He warned that failing to convert Africa’s youth into economic contributors risks turning the continent’s greatest asset into a liability.
“You cannot turn your demographic asset into somebody else’s problem,” he cautioned. “We have to put our money behind our young people to create opportunities for them.”
He concluded with a passionate call for belief and investment in Africa’s future: “I do not believe that the future of our young people lies in Europe. It doesn’t lie in America. It doesn’t lie in Canada, Japan, or China. It should lie in Africa growing well, robustly, and able to create quality jobs for our young people.”
The Nigerian currency, Naira (₦), continued its battle against the United States dollar at the official foreign exchange market on Saturday.
Daily Voice reports that data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that the local currency sold at ₦1,321.2160/1$ on Sunday.
The latest rate is the same as Saturday’s rate of ₦1,321.2160/1$.
At the parallel market (black market), however, the naira closed on Sunday at ₦1,400 to the dollar.
The offers by commercial banks, Bureau de Change (BDC) operators, and other foreign exchange dealers may, however, differ from the reference rates due to transaction margins and prevailing demand and supply conditions.
Market participants will continue to monitor foreign exchange inflows, demand for dollars, and CBN policies for indications of whether the naira can sustain its gains through the month.
Cement prices in Nigeria remain elevated, with a 50kg bag selling for between ₦12,000 and ₦15,000 in many markets, putting further pressure on builders, contractors and Nigerians planning construction projects.
The latest market data shows that although some brands are currently available below the ₦15,000 mark, the industry remains significantly more expensive than it was at the end of 2025 and early 2026.
Recent market quotations show the following indicative prices for a 50kg bag:
Note: prices may vary by location and transportation costs.
These figures are based on a September 1 market report and can vary depending on location, transportation costs, dealer margins and supply conditions.
However, July industry data painted a more expensive picture. CementNet reported retail prices of ₦12,000 to ₦15,000, with Dangote selling for about ₦13,000–₦15,000, BUA at ₦12,000–₦14,500, and HBM Nigeria, formerly Lafarge Africa, at ₦12,000–₦13,500.
The latest figures suggest that cement prices may have eased from the highest quotations seen earlier in the year, but the broader trend remains upward.
In July, The Guardian reported that a 50kg bag typically sold for ₦12,500–₦15,000 across major markets including Lagos, Abuja and Abia.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) also reported that prices had reached between ₦13,000 and ₦15,000 in some locations during the first half of 2026.
This means the current ₦12,000–₦14,000 quotations for several major brands should be viewed as some market-level moderation rather than a broad collapse in cement prices.
Why cement remains high
High energy and transportation costs continue to weigh heavily on the industry. Cement manufacturing requires significant amounts of energy, while moving cement from factories and depots to retail markets adds further costs.
Location is also playing an important role. Buyers in areas farther from production centres can pay substantially more because of haulage and distribution expenses.
The situation is particularly significant because Nigeria has substantial cement production capacity, yet retail prices remain high. The Guardian reported that domestic production exceeds consumption, with surplus output exported to neighbouring countries.
Nigerian civil servants on Grade Level 8 now earn between N1,479,276 and N1,914,514 annually, depending on their step within the scale, following the new minimum wage signed under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The figures fall under the Consolidated Public Service Salary Structure (CONPSS), the framework that governs pay across Nigeria’s federal civil service.
CONPSS covers 17 grade levels in total, and a worker’s position within each level is shaped by their qualifications, length of service, and performance record.
Grade Level 8 has 14 steps, with each step representing a progression in earnings. Below is the full breakdown:
The gap between the lowest and highest steps at this level amounts to N435,238, reflecting how significantly length of service can affect take-home pay within a single grade.
Interest in the salary structure has grown since Tinubu’s government approved a new national minimum wage, which triggered a review of earnings across the public sector. Civil servants and job seekers have been keenly examining each grade level to understand what the adjusted structure means in practical terms.
Workers at Grade Level 8 are typically mid-level employees with some years of experience in the civil service. Their earnings sit above the entry-level grades but below the senior cadre, making this level a reference point for many who are planning career progression within the federal workforce.
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