NACCIMA President Challenges Nigerian Youth to Step Into Economic Leadership

***NACCIMA Youth Launch Pan-African Investment Forum to Lead Africa’s Next Economic Boom

The National President of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Engineer Jani Ibrahim, has issued a clarion call to Nigerian youth: the time for excuses is over. Speaking during a strategic planning session for the upcoming Youth Investment Forum, Ibrahim said the country’s youth must rise beyond rhetoric and step into structured, results-driven leadership.
“You’ve come of age,” Ibrahim declared, drawing applause. “We can’t keep you under our wings forever. Like the Women’s Chamber, which has grown into a recognized national structure, the youth platform must now evolve into an independent, disciplined engine for national development.”
The President’s remarks come as NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE) prepare to host Africa’s first-ever Pan-African Youth Investment Forum on August 30–31, 2025, at NACCIMA headquarters in Abuja.
The event, which will run alongside the African Union’s Youth Connect Conference, will gather government ministries, development partners, and youth leaders from across the continent to craft actionable solutions for youth economic inclusion.
Ibrahim emphasized that youth empowerment must move beyond symbolic meetings and speeches. He called for ministries and development agencies to be held accountable for their commitments to young people.
“It’s no longer enough to attend meetings and talk,” he said. “We must document what ministries have for the youth and act on it. The Youth Investment Forum will set that tone.”
He also revealed that Nigeria recently missed out on a €20,000 youth development grant from the D-8 group due to poor youth representation—an oversight he described as a wake-up call for better organization and stronger institutional structures.
The President acknowledged the negative stereotypes surrounding Nigerian youth and challenged NYE to rewrite the narrative.
“Africa is waiting for Nigeria to lead,” he said. “We want the world to see Nigerian youth not as symbols of fraud or protest, but as champions of innovation and progress. Brilliance alone is not enough—it must meet structure and discipline.”
Ibrahim disclosed that ECOWAS, UNDP, GIZ, and several embassies are already engaging NACCIMA to design regional youth programs in entrepreneurship, sports, and digital innovation hubs. NYE has been given a mandate by ECOWAS to coordinate youth initiatives across West Africa—provided they can demonstrate strong organizational leadership.
In a lighter but strategic note, Ibrahim encouraged youth leaders to use their cultural influence and star power to amplify their message.

“If you want P-Square or Rema at your launch, go for it,” he said. “Celebrities want identity and impact too. Package it well, and they will support the cause.”
He closed his remarks with a powerful reminder that the youth platform must be built on governance and sustainability, not ceremonial optics.
In a bold move to position Nigerian youth at the center of Africa’s economic future, the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE) unveiled an ambitious two-year action plan that includes the launch of Africa’s first-ever Youth Investment Forum, set to debut in Abuja this August.
The initiative, announced by Ambassador Dr. Samira Bokar Abdullahi, newly appointed National Coordinator of NYE, signaled a generational shift in enterprise thinking—from scattered hustle to structured, scalable, and continent-wide collaboration.
“We are no longer the leaders of tomorrow—we are the changemakers of today,” Dr. Samira declared to a full hall of business leaders, policymakers, and youth innovators. “With the right structure, the right support, and the right voice, Nigerian youth can drive the next economic revolution—not just for Nigeria, but for Africa.”
The African Youth Investment Forum, scheduled for August 30, 2025, at the UNDP office in Abuja, will bring together 20 selected youth leaders from across the continent. The goal: to identify shared challenges, propose joint solutions, and push for regional policies that unlock access to capital, markets, and global opportunities.
The Forum will run as a side event to the African Union’s Youth Connect Conference, offering a Nigerian-led platform inside a wider continental conversation. Already, over 190 youth leaders from across Africa are confirmed to attend the overarching program.
“We’ve had the skills, the drive, and the ideas for years,” Dr. Samira added. “Now we’re building the institution, the capital pipeline, and the partnerships to match.”
The NYE’s 2025–2027 strategic plan also features a National Youth Chamber of Commerce, a Business Clinic ‘for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs’, a youth microfinance push (already seeded with ₦25 million), and zonal hubs that will turn Nigeria’s regions into specialized export engines—from agri-processing in the North to tech clusters in the South-West.
One standout innovation: the “One Region, One Program” model, which will see each zone of Nigeria develop a youth-centered, export-ready product chain—from farm to factory to foreign markets.
“This isn’t about aid or grants. It’s about market-driven value creation. And our youth are ready,” said Chinedu Aniabosu, Deputy National Coordinator.
From Abuja to Accra, from Lagos to Lomé, the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs believe the future of Africa’s private sector will be written not by corporations—but by collectives of smart, empowered, and organized young people.
“We’re building a map. A 10-year roadmap. One that any young person, from any corner of this country, can plug into,” Dr. Samira said. “This is our time. And we’re not waiting for permission.”
“This is about legacy,” he concluded. “Six years from now, we should look back and see that the youth built institutions, created jobs, and changed lives—not just events.”
With NACCIMA’s full backing, Ibrahim made it clear that Nigerian youth now have both the mandate and opportunity to lead Africa’s next economic renaissance—if they choose to seize it.