Afrexim Bank, DBN Partner GAIN On African Youth Summit

Afrexim Bank, the Development Bank of Nigeria and the Embassy of the Republic of Guinea have confirmed their partnership with Grand Africa Initiative(GAIN) on the 2021 edition of the Youth Summit organized by the pan-African NGO.

The GAIN Youth Summit is an annual gathering of African youths from across the continent and the diaspora, focused on developing entrepreneurship, innovation, professional and academic capacities in young Africans to help tackle the menace of youth unemployment and conflict on the continent.

The Executive Director of GAIN, Chinwe Okoli, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

She said “the GAIN Youth Summit 2021 has been designed to help further the discourse around strategies to unleash the economic potentials of young Africans to build sustainable prosperity on the continent.”

The Summit is scheduled to hold from 29th to 30th of October, 2021 with the theme, “ The Africa We Want: Nexus between the Youth, Peace and Entrepreneurship.”

Nigeria’s Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN , is expected to feature as the Special Guest of Honour with Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and sports, Sunday Dare and the CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mrs Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu expected to deliver keynote speeches.

Other confirmed speakers include British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing; The High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, Mr Thami Mseleku; Ambassador of Angola to Nigeria, Dr Januario Eustaquio Quibato; the High Commissioner of Namibia to Nigeria, Mr Humphrey Geiseb; the Lead Faculty, Tekedia Institute, Professor Ndubuisi Ekekwe; Regional Head, IBM North, East and West Africa, IBM, Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh; Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Microsoft philanthropies, Middle East & Africa & Philanthropies Lead for Nigeria, Microsoft, Mr Yemi Orimolade among others.

Okoli said GAIN is delighted that a number of eminent Africans and global players have signed up as partners for the summit, adding that it would be of immense benefit to youths in the continent.

She said, “The issues around restiveness, conflict, illegal migration and so on we believe are fuelled by the lack of economic opportunities driven by a lack of awareness and support for entrepreneurship and innovation across the continent.

“We also believe that these can be solved with the right partnership, the right understanding and providing the youths with the right knowledge and tools to become self-sufficient.”

The first edition of the summit held in October, 2020 with Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria delivering the keynote speech on the theme” Curbing Youth Unemployment Crises: The Real Issues.”

The summit recorded global participation from 90 countries in Africa and beyond.