Walking the Talk: First Winner of the Africa Food Prize Using Award Money to Support Rural Youth

In his speech accepting the Africa Food Prize in 2016, Dr. Kanayo F. Nwanze dedicated the Prize to Africa’s youth. “……with this prize, I pledge to continue to coach, mentor and inspire our younger generation in building a better and brighter future for this continent; our Africa,” said the then President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

True to his word, he has just set up the Facility for Youth Development (FAYODE), whose tagline is “bringing joy to rural lives”. Incidentally, FAYODE means bring joy in Yoruba, one of the many languages spoken in his home country, Nigeria.

“As the inaugural winner of the Africa Food Prize, I received US$ 100,000. I have committed this money to providing African rural youth with seed capital to enable them expand their businesses. My target is to make a transformative impact in the lives of the rural youth, even if it is only a handful of them,” said Dr. Nwanze.

While US$ 100,000 may not seem like much to finance an ambition like his, Dr. Nwanze strongly believes that the value of the money is not in the amount but in the difference it can make in people’s lives. He believes that even a dollar in the hands of a rural youth is transformative if appropriately used.

In its first few months of existence, FAYODE is already working with two youth in Nigeria. Emmanuel, a local fashion designer is one of them. He is an incredibly talented designer turning local fabric into masterpieces. FAYODE will invest a grant of up to US$ 2,500 in his business to finance the purchase of new capital equipment.

“Funds for capital equipment will not be given directly to Emmanuel. We will follow good business and administrative procurement procedures such as requiring him to obtain three quotations from which we will select the supplier with the best value for money and FAYODE will pay directly to the suppliers. . Additionally,   Emmanuel will receive 50 per cent of the money he needs to move into a new premise as a zero interest loan with a defined pay-back period” said Dr. Nwanze.

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