By Martins Ifijeh
Rendeavour, an urban land developer with two mixed-use development projects in Abuja and Lagos, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to support and grow young African leaders.
On the margins of the UN General Assembly, and in support of US President Barack Obama’s efforts to promote youth development and entrepreneurship in Africa, Rendeavour’s in-kind contribution of $1 million to the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), will provide assistance to young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and across the countries in which Rendeavour operates.
YALI, a $50 million USAID programme, is designed to foster leadership opportunities for African youth, encourage young Africans to excel in business, civil society and public administration in their respective countries.
The contribution, according to Rendeavour, was part of its commitment to developing Africa’s future leadership through mentorship, skills training, and professional development opportunities. “We believe that building tomorrow’s cadre of African leaders is the highest-impact way to develop sustainably,” says Frank Mosier, Rendeavour’s chairman. “With more than 200 million young people on the continent, the key to Africa’s success lies in preparing its next generation for economic and political leadership.”
Rendeavour is the largest urban land developer in Africa. Its portfolio includes seven satellite city developments, in Kenya, Zambia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria and Ghana, encompassing 12,000 hectares of land that will eventually be home to approximately 500,000 mostly middle income Africans.
