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My World of Bags Partners Mastercard Foundation To Launch Kafawa Training Program

My World of Bags, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has announced the launch of Kafawa, a training initiative designed to bridge the skills gap in the leather and non-leather manufacturing industry.

My World of Bags, the parent company of FemiHandbags, one of Africa’s leading luxury accessory brands, is partnering with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works upskill hundreds of Nigerian youths and connect them to work opportunities in the creative sector.

Kafawa, which means ‘establishment’ in Hausa, will kick-off its pilot edition in Oyo state, and will launch a series of intensive courses in hard and soft skills. The goal is to empower and establish a highly skilled generation of youth to enhance the quality of workmanship in Nigeria – and Africa’s leather and non-leather industries.

In a statement by the Program Director and Founder of My World of Bags/FemiHandbags, Mrs. Femi Olayebi, she said, “There is a breadth of potential in the leather and non-leather manufacturing industries in Nigeria, and yet, there is a lack of skilled hands to bring that potential to life. This partnership with the Mastercard Foundation is the perfect opportunity to achieve this, by not only equipping young Nigerians with the necessary skill sets to grow and expand the sector, but also to enhance their own economic outcomes. We are honoured to be driving this change, and we are committed to creating access for as many young people at the bottom-of-the-pyramid as possible. We truly believe that there is dignity in working your way to the top, no matter how low you start, and we hope to begin to change mindsets and create a chain reaction.”

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony, Chioma Nwagboso, Program Lead, MSME Finance at the Mastercard Foundation said, “The Mastercard Foundation is excited at the potential for Kafawa to create a new generation of young people with a changed mindset and new- found belief that production, tailoring and manufacturing can provide dignified and fulfilling work opportunities.”

L-R: Oluwayemi Olukanni, Course Design Lead, Kafawa; Nkem Okocha, Founder, Mamamoni; Mrs. Femi Olayebi, CEO, My World of Bags Ltd; Sinmi Olayebi, Project Lead, Kafawa at the launch of My World of Bags Kafawa training program recently

Over the past five years, My World of Bags has been an active advocate for skill-building, through its annual training program for leather designers, in partnership with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC); and for expanding access and creating a platform for visibility, through its annual Lagos Leather Fair. This partnership with the Mastercard Foundation enables the company to further expand its reach, intensify and broaden the training curricula and offer placement opportunities within the leather and non-leather manufacturing industry.

The first cohort of trainees, selected based on their passion, availability, and readiness to strive for better, have officially been on-boarded into the Kafawa Training Program and are very eager to begin a journey that will involve intensive training over a period of 3-4 months. Application for the next cohort will be open in March 2022.

28 October 2021
12,000 Rice Farmers to Benefit from WOFAN, Mastercard Foundation’s RiceAdvice App in Abuja, Kaduna

No fewer than 12,000 rice farmers in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Kaduna are to benefit from an innovative application – Rice Advice App which has been introduced to 200 extension workers in Abuja and Kaduna.

The Rice Advice App is the initiative of the Women Farmers Advancement Network (WOFAN), a non-profit organization focused on women farmers in the country in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.

Speaking in Abuja on recently, at a training on the Rice Advice app, the President of WOFAN, Hajia Salamatu Garba stated that the extension workers have been trained on the use of the App to advise farmers to enhance their performance and annual yield.

“With this app, they can measure the exact sizes of the farm and advise the farmers on the correct fertilizer application. The app is also useful for predictive analysis because it will be able to proffer information such as expected yields from farms and how farmers can leverage this to maximize profits,” Garba explained.

Also speaking at the event, the Program Lead, Agriculture for Mastercard Foundation in Nigeria, Lois Sankey said the training is aimed at building the savvy of the extension workers on the integration of technology and agriculture which is a testament to the Young Africa Works (YAW) strategy of The Foundation.

“Since the extension workers provide services to the farmers, it is important that their capacity to train the farmers in understanding the principles under the Rice Advice is consistently built. This is particularly important as we go into the dry season farming, so constant training is necessary to increase the extension workers’ capacity” Sankey said.

The WOFAN President noted that the extension workers were part of a total of 200 that are working with WOFAN in the four Northern states of Kaduna, Kano and Jigawa and FCT adding that they were the third batch to be trained.

“We are working in the four states with the Mastercard Foundation. This project encompasses 45,000 farmers who will go back to their various farmers better equipped and more knowledgeable on twenty-first-century strategies of farming. Through this project, we are anticipating a new generation of farmers who will leverage technology to achieve great things”, she noted.

11 October 2021
Agrolog, Mastercard Foundation Partner To Empower 60,000 Ginger Farmers in Nigeria

Agrolog General Services Limited in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation will support 60,000 smallholder farmers in vulnerable indigenous ginger farming communities in Kaduna State.

The partnership will provide immediate materials, capacity, and structural support to boost ginger production and increase work opportunities for young people and adults in Nigeria.

Agrolog has been investing in the development of the ginger value chain since 2018.

The Managing Director of Agrolog Limited, Dr. Manzo Maigari, explained that in addition to improving yields of ginger from 18 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) to 25MT/ha, the intervention will also create 60,000 on and off the farm jobs that will benefit the farmers and their communities by providing economic recovery, growth, and social stability.

According to Dr. Maigari, only smallholder farmers that belong to existing organized cooperatives within these local government areas can participate in the initiative.

Farmers who are selected will receive support ranging from training to farming implements that they can immediately use on their farms to cultivate ginger and food crops.

“The ginger value chain, if well harnessed can transform livelihoods. Ginger products such as ginger spices, powder, oil, medicine, tea, and tonic confectioneries hold massive opportunities for smallholder farmers, young people, and women across the entire value chain. From planting, harvesting, cleaning, cutting, processing, bagging, storage, and sales, this initiative offers a ray of hope to thousands of families in their local communities who have been further paralyzed by the pandemic. Now, they will be able to rely on a steady and sustainable income stream through ginger farming and processing,” Dr. Maigarisaid.

The partnership unlocks a multitude of benefits to farmers and the farming community, including mechanization, training and capacity building, farm mapping, standardization of measures, increased yields, improved processing, access to organized markets, and financial inclusion.

A participant in the initiative, Kakuta Irimiah, lauded the partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Agrolog saying that the fertilizers and farm inputs they provided have helped to expand her business.

“The Agrolog fertilizer I received helped me to produce more bags of ginger. I used to produce 30 bags per hectare and now I produce between 50 to 100 bags. I have also received training on how to apply the fertilizers and how to construct drainages to prevent my farm from being washed away by erosion. Before this time, the colour of my produce was yellowish but now, it is greenish which is a sign of healthy and quality produce,” she said.

Speaking on the initiative, Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head, at the Mastercard Foundation said; “Our partnership with Agrolog is poised to drive immense production of ginger and create work opportunities for youth across the ginger value chain. It also will alleviate the impending threat to food security and livelihoods, which has worsened with the ongoing pandemic.”

Ginger farm

The intervention is being supported through the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, which is targeted at offering timely support to mitigate the impending economic crises among the vulnerable indigenous communities.

The intervention is also aimed at averting further disruptions to the ginger supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The BUSINESS BELLS reports that Agrolog Limited is a newly established agribusiness company specialized in the production and trade of agricultural commodities, agro logistics, various agricultural investments and farm management.

The company seeks to entrench a culture of operational excellence that guarantees transparency from farm to table.

Agrolog has contrived partnerships through Innovation Platforms (IPs) that bring farmers and investors together enabling ecosystems that allow for collaborations that build farmers capacities, provision of quality inputs and standardization of practices that ensure high productivity and quality outputs.

The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. 

It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world.

The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management. 

12 September 2021