ALX Africa used a Lagos roundtable to press funders to focus on how youth skills programs are delivered, as Nigerian labor data show high informality and a 6.5% unemployment rate among people ages 15-24.
The Sun reported that ALX convened foundations, nongovernmental organizations and development partners in Lagos for a roundtable titled “From Funding to Outcomes”; Premium Times later carried a press release about the event. The Sun reported that the discussion centered on a gap between program funding and results. That diagnosis came from ALX, rather than an independent evaluation cited in the reports.
A press release carried by Premium Times quoted Ruby Igwe, ALX’s regional manager for West and Central Africa, as saying, “There is real money going into youth skills and employability in this country.” Igwe argued that delivery problems can weaken outcomes. The Premium Times press release described ALX as offering technical and implementation support; The Sun reported that the company presented itself as an implementation partner for large-scale initiatives.
Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported a 6.5% unemployment rate among people ages 15-24 in Q2 2024. It also found that 12.5% of that age group were not in education, employment or training. NBS counts people as unemployed when they are in the labor force, have no job, are looking for work and are available to take it; the rate therefore does not measure all young people without work.
The same NBS report showed that informal work accounted for 93.0% of total employment. Of employed people, 85.6% were self-employed and 14.4% were employees, figures that frame the challenge facing programs intended to connect training with work.
ALX’s published figures list 347,100 graduates and 257,900 transitions into work across its programs. The company describes these as totals to date but does not specify their starting point. ALX was also promoting itself as a potential delivery partner at the Lagos meeting, giving the organization a direct interest in the approach Igwe advocated.
The reports reviewed did not identify a next scheduled decision or indicator tied to the roundtable.
