In a nation as richly endowed yet deeply unequal as Nigeria, poverty remains one of the greatest challenges of our time. Despite abundant oil reserves, a youthful population, and fertile land, more than 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ 2022 report. It is a troubling paradox of plenty amid lack. But emerging across the country are encouraging stories of collaborative models that point to a sustainable way out, partnerships.
“To truly make collaboration a national development strategy, Nigeria must build systems that encourage partnership, transparent governance, ease of doing business, community trust, and a regulatory environment that rewards innovation and cooperation.”
What Nigeria needs is not merely charity or isolated government intervention, but coordinated partnerships that bring together the government, the private sector, communities, civil society, and international development players. These collaborations are already yielding results, not only in providing jobs and improving incomes but also in strengthening local economies and empowering communities to own their development plans.
A good example is the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), which has collaborated with private and development partners to fund thousands of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). By working with Mastercard Foundation, UNDP, GIZ, and private banks, LSETF has trained over 70,000 youths in vocational and entrepreneurial skills since its inception in 2016 and disbursed over N8 billion in loans. These partnerships have enabled access to finance and skills in one of Nigeria’s most populous states, directly impacting poverty levels and youth unemployment.
In the agriculture sector, the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) is another collaborative model. Established by the Central Bank of Nigeria, NIRSAL partners with commercial banks, farmers’ cooperatives, and insurance firms to de-risk lending to smallholder farmers. By offering credit guarantees and technical support, it has facilitated over N150 billion in loans to farmers and agribusinesses, especially in rural communities where poverty is most pronounced. This collaboration between government and the private sector is not just improving food security; it is transforming agriculture into a viable path out of poverty for millions.
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Community-based collaboration is also proving very useful in parts of the country. In Kaduna State, the Girl Child Education and Women Empowerment Initiative (GWEIN), a local NGO, is working with community leaders, women’s groups, and international partners like ActionAid to empower rural women through cooperative societies. Women in Giwa and Zaria, for instance, now pool savings, access microloans, and engage in farming and small-scale processing businesses, although insecurity has been a major drawback to the goals. These bottom-up partnerships enable women, often the most affected by poverty, to generate income and gain financial independence.
Another standout partnership is the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria (PSHAN), which is working to reduce poverty through healthcare. By collaborating with state governments, tech innovators, and NGOs, PSHAN supports the Adopt-A-Primary Healthcare Centre model. This initiative has improved healthcare delivery in underserved areas of Oyo, Bauchi, and Kano states, thereby reducing out-of-pocket health spending that pushes many families below the poverty line. With healthy citizens, the capacity to work, earn, and escape poverty improves.
At the grassroots level, platforms like Thrive Agric are transforming the lives of rural farmers by connecting them to funding, inputs, and markets. Thrive Agric operates in Bauchi, Benue, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Yobe, and Adamawa states. They have a network of over 500,000 farmers across 22 Nigerian states in partnership with Sterling Bank, USAID, and local cooperatives. These partnerships ensure that farmers not only produce more but also earn more, a critical step in lifting rural populations out of poverty.
International collaboration has also played a significant role. The World Bank’s NG-CARES programme (Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus), launched in 2021, is a partnership between the federal government, 36 states, and the World Bank to provide grants and support to small businesses and vulnerable households. With over $750 million committed and thousands of beneficiaries reached across all states, NG-CARES illustrates how large-scale poverty interventions can work when collaboration is driven by shared goals and local accountability.
Nevertheless, these promising examples are still exceptions, not the norm. To truly make collaboration a national development strategy, Nigeria must build systems that encourage partnership, transparent governance, ease of doing business, community trust, and a regulatory environment that rewards innovation and cooperation. Too often, policy flip-flops, bureaucratic bottlenecks, and corruption derail even the best initiatives.
Moreover, the federal and state governments must play their coordination role better, not as overlords or rent seekers, but as facilitators. By creating enabling environments for partnerships, especially in sectors like agriculture, education, renewable energy, and digital technology, Nigeria can unlock opportunities where markets have failed and state capacity is limited.
Poverty is complex; no single player, whether government, NGO, or private sector, can tackle it alone. But where partnerships exist, poverty can be pushed back. Where collaboration thrives, development accelerates. What Nigerians need is not more handouts but more handshakes across institutions, sectors, and communities.
The solutions to poverty already exist in Nigeria, in models that combine resources, ideas, and trust. Now is the time to scale them up. Collaboration is not just a strategy; it is the most Nigerian way to rise—together.
