Nestlé Deepens Youth Empowerment Drive Across Africa And Beyond In 2025
By Adeyemi Obadimu
In a year defined by growing economic uncertainty and youth unemployment across emerging markets, Nestlé has intensified its investment in youth empowerment and skills development rolling out a suite of transformative initiatives across Africa and other regions under its global “Nestlé Needs YOUth” agenda.
From Lagos to Nairobi, Cairo to Kuala Lumpur, the food and beverage giant has positioned itself not just as a nutrition leader but also as a partner in shaping the next generation of entrepreneurs, technicians, and changemakers.
A Vision Beyond the Factory Gate
At the heart of Nestlé’s 2025 youth strategy is a renewed belief that sustainable business growth must go hand-in-hand with human development. The company’s interventions ranging from technical training to entrepreneurship workshops have impacted thousands of young people this year alone.
In Nigeria, Nestlé’s Agbara Technical Training Centre graduated its 8th cohort in September, producing 20 new technical professionals after an 18-month intensive program blending theory, hands-on manufacturing experience, and life skills. The initiative, launched to bridge the country’s industrial skills gap, continues to be a beacon of hope for young Nigerians seeking productive employment.
“Our aim is to prepare young people not just for jobs, but for lifelong careers,” said Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria. “We are helping them build the confidence, creativity, and technical capacity to thrive in today’s evolving economy.”
Street to Skill: Empowering the Informal Economy
Earlier in May, Nestlé Professional’s “My Own Business” (MYOWBU) project in Lagos trained over 300 young vendors and food entrepreneurs. The workshops equipped participants with modern business management techniques, hygiene best practices, and digital marketing skills while also integrating environmental awareness through the “Clean with MYOWBU” recycling initiative.
Participants were given starter packs, mentorship sessions, and micro-financing guidance to help scale their street food businesses responsibly. The impact, according to community observers, has been immediate: several beneficiaries have since expanded operations, employed assistants, and introduced eco-friendly packaging into their businesses.
“This is empowerment that goes beyond talk,” said Azeezat Adigun, one of the beneficiaries. “Nestlé has shown that young entrepreneurs can be trained and trusted to build decent livelihoods from the street economy.”
Global Partnerships for Local Impact
In March 2025, Nestlé announced a global collaboration with UNESCO to support 100 youth-led projects focused on environmental sustainability, digital innovation, and agripreneurship. The USD 1.7 million fund has already begun disbursing grants, mentorship, and visibility to young innovators from Africa, Asia, and Latin America many of whom are tackling community challenges through creativity and technology.
The partnership is an evolution of Nestlé’s commitment to global youth development. By blending corporate resources with UNESCO’s youth networks, the company aims to reach grassroots changemakers often overlooked by formal institutions.
“The youth of today are the architects of tomorrow,” said Laurent Freixe, Nestlé’s CEO for Zone Latin America and the driving force behind the global youth agenda. “Our responsibility as a company is to open doors doors that lead to opportunity, innovation, and purpose.”
Building a Sustainable Future Through Skills
Nestlé’s interventions extend beyond entrepreneurship and technical training. The company has strengthened collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture in Nigeria to develop a Dairy Technical Skills Programme, unveiled during World Milk Day in June 2025. The initiative seeks to train local dairy farmers, improve milk collection systems, and increase the participation of youth and women in the agricultural value chain.
By investing in capacity building within the rural economy, Nestlé is helping to build a new generation of skilled agripreneurs equipped with both technical know-how and business acumen.
Education Meets Industry
Elsewhere, in Asia, the company has expanded its partnership with leading universities including Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) to provide internships, job shadowing, and career coaching to thousands of students under the Nestlé Needs YOUth programme.
The model has inspired new regional collaborations in Africa, with universities in Kenya and Ghana already in talks to replicate the partnership structure.
An Evolving Commitment
Nestlé’s 2025 youth empowerment portfolio illustrates a broader shift in corporate responsibility one that treats young people not as beneficiaries, but as partners in innovation.
Through structured training, entrepreneurship incubation, and education-industry collaboration, Nestlé is building a pipeline of skilled professionals who can contribute to economic resilience and sustainability.
As the year draws to a close, the results speak for themselves: thousands of young people equipped with new skills, hundreds of small enterprises rejuvenated, and a growing recognition that youth empowerment is not charity it is strategy.
