UNICEF, Foundation Partner To Boost Employment in Nigeria/Kenya

By Aza Abba, Abuja

The Standard Chartered Foundation, in partnership with UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (UNICEF GenU), working with UNICEF offices in Kenya and Nigeria, has come together to promote local job placement experts and relevant government initiatives.

The three-year initiative will focus exclusively on women aged 18–24 from low-income backgrounds. It will support UNICEF GenU’s growing ecosystem of global and local partners, a public-private model that has already delivered significant and massive progress in skills training for young people. The partnership builds on this foundation by prioritising pathways that move trained young women into sustainable employment.

Participants will be selected from the existing pool of young women who have completed UNICEF GenU skills training programmes, with targeted support to help them transition from training into livelihoods.

UNICEF offices in Kenya and Nigeria will work closely with local job placement experts and facilitators to connect participants with private-sector employment opportunities.

The programme will also collaborate with local government initiatives to identify job pathways aligned with local labour market needs and maximise them.

Ayodeji Adelagun, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Nigeria, said the partnership reflects the Foundation’s commitment to turning skills into jobs.

Wafaa Saeed, UNICEF Nigeria Representative, emphasised the transformative impact of employment opportunities for young women and the economy at large.

The partnership aligns with broader efforts to promote youth employment, gender equity and inclusive economic growth across Africa.