Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), a leading consumer packaged goods company, has launched the 2026 edition of its youth employability initiative as consumer-goods companies operating in Nigeria intensify investment in workforce development to address persistent skills gaps and rising youth unemployment.
The company, a member of Coca-Cola HBC Group, began this year’s #YouthEmpowered programme with an initial training session at University of Lagos earlier in February. The initiative targets individuals aged 16–35 and forms part of corporate efforts to strengthen human capital pipelines while supporting entrepreneurship in Africa’s most populous economy.
Since its launch in 2017, the programme has reached more than 70,000 participants, offering training in employability, business development and workplace skills. Executives say the scheme reflects a long-term strategy to help bridge the gap between formal education and labour-market requirements, particularly as companies face shortages of job-ready talent.
The 2026 rollout is being delivered with implementation support from Fate Foundation and funding from Coca-Cola HBC Foundation. The partners say collaboration has been central to scaling the programme’s geographic reach and improving its impact through combined technical expertise and funding resources.
Corporate training programmes of this type have gained traction in Nigeria as policymakers and businesses deal with structural unemployment, infrastructure constraints and limited access to entrepreneurial finance. Multinationals increasingly view workforce development not only as corporate social responsibility but also as a strategic investment in market sustainability.
Participants in the scheme receive instruction across financial literacy, customer engagement, sales capability, resilience, business ethics and communication skills. Additional workshops focus on project management, time management and business planning, while a grant competition provides seed funding for promising business ideas.
Some previous participants have secured internships and entrepreneurial funding through the initiative. Company officials point to last year’s cohort, in which selected candidates completed six-month paid placements across operational locations in Lagos, Ibadan, Asejire and Challawa. Others received sponsorship for specialised training programmes alongside financial support for start-up ventures.
Speaking about her experience at the University of Lagos training, Waliat Adedogun, a participant who received a cash grant through the Director’s Grant Pitch Competition to support her small business, said: “#YouthEmpowered gave me more than training, it gave me clarity and confidence. Winning the grant means I can finally take my business idea from a dream into something real. I now feel prepared to build, grow, and create opportunities not just for myself, but for others too.”
NBC executives argue that linking skills development directly to employment pathways improves programme effectiveness and helps address Nigeria’s persistent mismatch between academic qualifications and labour-market needs.
The 2026 expansion will extend training to additional tertiary institutions, including Federal University of Technology Akure, following a nationwide tour last year that covered several major cities. Organisers say the geographic footprint is intended to improve access to training opportunities outside the country’s largest commercial centres.
Alongside training activities, the company’s human resources teams will monitor participants for potential recruitment opportunities, reinforcing what it describes as a “learning-to-employment pipeline”.
