E-Business
Mastercard Foundation, Agrolog Partner to Empower 60,000 Ginger Farmers in Nigeria
Agrolog General Services Limited in collaboration with the Mastercard Foundation will support 60,000 smallholder farmers in vulnerable indigenous ginger farming communities in Kaduna State.
The partnership will provide immediate materials, capacity, and structural support to boost ginger production and increase work opportunities for young people and adults in Nigeria.
Agrolog has been investing in the development of the ginger value chain since 2018.
Dr. Manzo Maigari, Managing Director of Agrolog Limited, explained that in addition to improving yields of ginger from 18 metric tons per hectare (MT/ha) to 25MT/ha, the intervention will also create 60,000 on and off the farm jobs that will benefit the farmers and their communities by providing economic recovery, growth, and social stability.
According to Dr. Maigari, only smallholder farmers that belong to existing organized cooperatives within these local government areas can participate in the initiative.
Farmers who are selected will receive support ranging from training to farming implements that they can immediately use on their farms to cultivate ginger and food crops.
“The ginger value chain, if well harnessed can transform livelihoods. Ginger products such as ginger spices, powder, oil, medicine, tea, and tonic confectioneries hold massive opportunities for smallholder farmers, young people, and women across the entire value chain.
“From planting, harvesting, cleaning, cutting, processing, bagging, storage, and sales, this initiative offers a ray of hope to thousands of families in their local communities who have been further paralyzed by the pandemic. Now, they will be able to rely on a steady and sustainable income stream through ginger farming and processing,” Dr. Maigarisaid.
The partnership unlocks a multitude of benefits to farmers and the farming community, including mechanization, training and capacity building, farm mapping, standardization of measures, increased yields, improved processing, access to organized markets, and financial inclusion.
A participant in the initiative, Kakuta Irimiah, lauded the partnership between the Mastercard Foundation and Agrolog saying that the fertilizers and farm inputs they provided have helped to expand her business.
“The Agrolog fertilizer I received helped me to produce more bags of ginger. I used to produce 30 bags per hectare and now I produce between 50 to 100 bags. I have also received training on how to apply the fertilizers and how to construct drainages to prevent my farm from being washed away by erosion.
“Before this time, the colour of my produce was yellowish but now, it is greenish which is a sign of healthy and quality produce,” she said.
Speaking on the initiative, Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head, at the Mastercard Foundation said; “Our partnership with Agrolog is poised to drive immense production of ginger and create work opportunities for youth across the ginger value chain. It also will alleviate the impending threat to food security and livelihoods, which has worsened with the ongoing pandemic.”
The intervention is being supported through the Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, which is targeted at offering timely support to mitigate the impending economic crises among the vulnerable indigenous communities.
The intervention is also aimed at averting further disruptions to the ginger supply chain because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Agrolog Limited is a newly established agribusiness company specialized in the production and trade of agricultural commodities, agro logistics, various agricultural investments and farm management.
The company seeks to entrench a culture of operational excellence that guarantees transparency from farm to table.
Agrolog has contrived partnerships through Innovation Platforms (IPs) that bring farmers and investors together enabling ecosystems that allow for collaborations that build farmers capacities, provision of quality inputs and standardization of practices that ensure high productivity and quality outputs.
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work.
It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world.
The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.
Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, passed for first reading a bill aimed at amending the Nigerian Data Protection Act of 2023.
The amendment seeks to compel major social media platforms—including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, WhatsApp, YouTube, TikTok, and other independent bloggers—to establish physical offices in Nigeria.
The bill is titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Nigerian Data Protection Act, 2023, Mandating the Establishment of Physical Offices within the Federal Republic of Nigeria by Social Media Platforms, and for Related Matters, 2025.”
It was introduced by Senator Ned Nwoko, a lawmaker from Delta State.
The bill not only mandates that the social media platforms set up physical offices in Nigeria, but also seeks to regulate bloggers operating in the country.
It proposes that bloggers must establish verifiable offices in any Nigerian capital city, maintain proper employee records, and join a recognised association based in Abuja.
During the Senate debate, Nwoko highlighted Nigeria’s significant digital presence, referencing a report from Global Web Index shared by Business Insider Africa.
With a population of over 200 million, Nigeria ranks second globally in social media engagement.
Nwoko argued that having local offices is long overdue, noting that the absence of such offices creates challenges, including limited local representation and difficulties for users and businesses to engage directly with these platforms.
The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, acknowledged the potential benefits of having these social media platforms establish local offices, particularly in terms of improving regulatory oversight and ensuring compliance.
However, Akpabio urged caution regarding the regulation of bloggers, stressing the importance of protecting online expression.
“It’s beneficial to have an address, but bloggers are a bit different. The best approach is for the bill to go for a second reading, followed by a public hearing to provide more clarity,” Akpabio said.
He emphasised that the intent of the bill was not to suppress social media, but rather to improve taxation and record-keeping for digital platforms in Nigeria.
The Senate has also tasked the Committee on ICT and Cyber Security to conduct a thorough review of the bill and report its findings in two months.
Google said Tuesday it will acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion, citing the need for greater cybersecurity capacity as artificial intelligence embeds itself in technology infrastructure.
The all-cash deal brings Wiz into the Google Cloud operation, boosting the capacity of consumers to use “multiple clouds” and providing “an end-to-end security platform for customers, of all types and sizes, in the AI era,” the companies said in a joint press release.
The deepening influence of AI makes “cybersecurity increasingly important in defending against emergent risks and protecting national security,” the companies said.
The transaction, the largest ever sought by Google or parent Alphabet, will test President Donald Trump’s openness to large takeovers after resistance to such deals by the administration of Joe Biden.
Alphabet had been close to a Wiz takeover last summer, but the deal fell apart due in part to regulatory concerns, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Started in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, co-founder and CEO, and a team who sold a previous venture to Microsoft, Wiz will continue to work and provide services to platform led by other tech giants including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Wiz is based in New York, with offices in Tel Aviv and three other US cities.
In a webcast after the deal was announced, Rappaport said the service “continuously scans an organization’s code and cloud environments, monitoring them in real time” to “prioritize the most critical risk based on real impact and blocks active threats.”
Dare Olufunmilayo, founder and CEO of Darey.io, has said that the reason for the establishment of a physical tech hub in Lagos is to expand on the digital talents they have started building especially pushing its artificial intelligent initiatives further.
Speaking at the launch of the hub, he described the moment as more than just the opening of a new office but the beginning of a transformative movement.
“Today is not just about celebrating a new office space; it is about launching a movement, a revolution in how we learn, build careers, and create opportunities in the tech ecosystem,” he stated.
The event’s theme, “Tech & Tea: Brewing Nigeria’s Technology Innovation Future,” reflects the belief that building a thriving digital economy requires the right mix of talent, innovation, and collaboration.
Olufunmilayo likened the process to brewing the perfect cup of tea, requiring the right mix of talent, innovation, and partnerships.
“Just like brewing the perfect tea, building a thriving digital economy requires the right ingredients: talent, innovation, and collaboration,” he noted.
He also acknowledged the critical role of various stakeholders, including the Nigerian government, tech leaders, and industry partners.
“None of this would be possible without the ecosystem we are a part of. The government’s 3MTT initiative is playing a crucial role in creating a future-ready workforce,” he said, recognizing the contributions of government efforts, partners, and the dedicated Darey.io team.
Reflecting on the journey that led to this milestone, Olufunmilayo highlighted the company’s mission to empower Africans with world-class digital skills and bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
“A few years ago, we started with a bold vision: to empower Africans with world-class digital skills and bridge the gap between talent and opportunity.
“We believed that, with the right platform, the right training, and the right mindset, anyone—no matter their background—could go from learning to earning in the global digital economy.”
That vision, he emphasized, has now become a reality. “Thousands of Nigerians have started their careers through Darey.io, working for top global companies, launching startups, and creating ground-breaking solutions.”
With the launch of Xterns.ai, the initiative is taking an even greater leap forward. “Xterns.ai is our next big leap—where we don’t just train talents; we integrate them directly into the workforce through our Proof-of-Skills Hiring model,” Olufunmilayo explained.
Speaking at the launch, Francis Sani, Technical Adviser for Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Capital to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, highlighted Nigeria’s demographic advantage.
He noted that Nigeria has the largest youth population in Africa, with a median age of 16 years, compared to 38 in the U.S. and 46 in Japan. This, he said, positions the country as a key player in the global tech competitiveness race.
However, Sani emphasized that access to quality training and employment pathways remains a significant challenge. “We have the talent, we have the ambition, but we must scale up digital skills to compete globally,” he stated.
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