How Terra Kulture and Mastercard Foundation Partnership Will Empower 65,000 Young Nigerians

Terra Kulture, a leading educational and recreational organisation, has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to train up to 65,000 young creatives across Nigeria and create work opportunities for them.

The five-year training partnership programme, which aims to equip young Nigerians with relevant skills across key sub-sectors in theatre and business, will form a significant part of the Terra Academy for The Arts (TAFTA) programme, a statement by the organisation said.

As Nigeria’s youth unemployment crisis continue to skyrocket with 33.3 per cent of the population unemployed as of the fourth quarter of 2020, according to latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the media and entertainment industry which the PwC projected that its revenue will hit $14.8 billion in 2025, appears to be in a better health to empower young Nigerians and create employment opportunities for them.

The partnership between Terra Kulture and Mastercard will create an e-learning platform that will provide free education and access to employment opportunities to the most vulnerable youth, with a major focus on women between 16-35 years in Lagos, Ogun, and Kano States. The partnership will also provide participants with foundational training, support, internships, employment and financial services linkages.

According to the CEO of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, the intervention would positively impact Nigerian youth and culture, both now and in the nearest future.

“Driving impact and creating massive visibility for the Nigerian culture and youth has always been at the core of our existence. We have leveraged our thorough understanding of arts, culture, and languages over the years to impact the next generation in the best way possible. We are extremely excited to partner with the Mastercard Foundation to further empower up to 65,000 Nigerian youth spread across the country,” Austen-Peters said.

“The Academy will provide training on key technical production skills for theatre and the Creative industry. Eachcourse will include an entrepreneurial module for students to learn about the industry’s business side. Some of the coursesoffered include Animation, Scriptwriting, Lighting Management, and Sound Management. We believe this will create employment opportunities for young creatives and make them self-reliant while facilitating national integration among students.”

The entry requirement for all students is a minimum of senior secondary school qualifications. All courses will include an introductory section, and as such, students do not need any prior knowledge to either register for the course or comprehend the course material.

The Mastercard Foundation’s Country Head for Nigeria, Chidinma Lawanson, said the partnership will enable the partners to reach more young people, especially young women in the Creative sector.

“Together with our partner, we will provide access to training, skills, and mentorship platforms which will further create access to entrepreneurial and employment opportunities for young creatives in Nigeria,” Lawanson said.

The partnership is aligned with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy in Nigeria, which seeks to enable 10 million young Nigerian women and men, to access dignified work and the right skills to contribute to Africa’s global competitiveness.

Founded in 2003 to promote the richness and diversity of Nigerian languages, arts and culture, Terra Kulture has organised over 200 art exhibitions, over 150 plays, 65 book readings.