Nigeria Wins World Bank’s Youth Development Initiative

For the second successive year, Nigeria has won the Ideas for Action initiative, a youth competition on financing for development, which is yearly organised by the World Bank Group in collaboration with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research.

Nigeria’s winning proposal, “Kitovu”, came out top from among 743 proposals from 118 countries, while Uganda’s proposal of “Gifted Hands” and India’s proposal of “Agratam” were adjudged first and second runner ups in this year’s competition.

The World Bank’s Senior Vice President (The 2030 Development Agenda), Mahmoud Mohieldin, announced the results of the 2017 Ideas for Action initiative in Washington, on the sidelines of the ongoing annual meetings of World Bank/International Monetary Fund.

Mohieldin disclosed that the winners were selected through a vigorous three-stage selection process evaluating the creativity, significance, feasibility, and clarity of the proposals.

The reviewers, according to him, included young World Bank Group staff, technical experts and senior executives from the World Bank Group, Wharton School and the G-24 Secretariat, among others.

“The 2017 Ideas for Action competition encourages young people from around the world to develop and share their ideas for innovative approaches, through the smart use of technology, as well as financing solutions, to solve development challenges.

“It attracts engagement from young people across the globe, with about 38 per cent of submissions from Sub-Saharan African, 15 per cent from Latin American andthe Caribbean, 13 per cent from South Asia, 12 per cent from East Asia and the Pacific, 12 per cent from North America, 8 per cent from Europe, and 2 per cent from the Middle East and North Africa,” the World Bank’s officer said.

In her remarks, the World Bank’s Director of Strategy and Operations, Africa Region, Ms. Mamta Murthi, reassured that the multilateral institution would continue to promote and encourage the youth globally.

She noted that the youth remained the major stakeholders in the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and its associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

She said: “We focus on youth for this competition because three billion people – 43 per cent of the world’s population – are under the age of 25. The world’s youth will implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, contributing their unique solutions and shaping their future and ours.