By Adetutu Audu

Over 2,300 young professionals participated in Nigeria’s largest workforce development summit over the weekend, with participants securing direct job placements and entrepreneurship funding as the country grapples with youth underemployment challenges.

The African Workforce Summit 2025, held at the Sheba Event Centre in Ikeja, delivered immediate career outcomes through on-site job interviews, skills assessments, and a startup pitch competition that awarded a total of $1,000 in funding to emerging entrepreneurs.

The statistics is frightening. Nigeria produces over 3 million graduates annually, but fewer than 500,000 secure formal employment. As a result of this, youth unemployment and underemployment have skyrocketed, with many young professionals either stuck in informal work or pushed toward economic migration.

To find solution to this sorry state of youth unemployment, African Workforce Summit 2025 held a two day summit at Sheba Event Centre , Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja, Lagos State in Lagos between Friday 27 June, Saturday, 28, June , 2025 respectively, to address this crisis with practical , outcome driven experience.

Speakers and panelists who spoke at the well attended summit that comprised mostly youths ,spoke on tips and practical ways to achieve success in content creating business and entrepreneur world
In the first talk shop at the summit, moderated by Adebola Zoe Williams, a marketing and communication expert at Zole App, featured Salem King, a story teller and content creator; Osas Irinaole, a brand expert and influencer as panelist.

The duo dwelled on important a practical way to make leeway in the business of content creating .
King in his submission at the summit , said for any content creator to be different from the rest, “he or she must know how to write good script and voice over.”

He told the audience that “a content creator must be in charge when selling his or services to the clients , you should not allow yourself to be bully by your clients because they are the one who need your services.”

Not only that, King also explained that content creators must have great passion for the profession, and be able to monetize their services optimally not just for passion sake, adding that they can monetize their services directly with their audience and make a lot of money, aside the ones they will get from corporate organizations.

He advised content creators not just to append their signatures to contracts put before them by their clients but they must carry their lawyers along in the process because they are professionally competent to do behalf of their behalf.

King added that that a good content creator who want to achieve greatness in the content creating business must know how to write good brief, and how to define the terms of contract between them and their clients with the aid of their lawyers.

“Let your lawyers go through it before yon append your signature to the contract so that you will not regret your action after the signing of the contract,” saying “many have been short-charged when they supposed to make a lot of money for the services they rendered to their clients”.

Osas on her part , spoke on the power of negotiations when doing business with the clients, saying it is not just about content creating only.

“It is about image -making which can earn you a lot of money. Good negotiations will attract you good money, and you need to understand the nature of power of bargaining and be firm in what you want in your business, don’t be intimidated by your clients, be in charge” Osas counsels the youths.

In the second talk session that featured Co-founder of and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Paid HR , Seye Bandele and Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Piggy Vest, Joshua Chibueze, spoke on how to use effective communication between top management and their employees, not only to achieve organizational goals but to make money for the progress of the organization.

They also talked on hiring of staff that it should not be based on hiring sake, adding that it this is not properly handle, may contribute to the failure or otherwise of any organizations.

“Reviewing salaries of your workers periodically to motivate them should not be only tool organizations use to achieve optimum results. It not about making people working in your company happy only with pay cheque you offered them, it about effective communication with your staffs to align with the company’s vision which will do the magic, motivate them to do what seems impossible, to do more for your organisations.

“It is not just about hiring workers for you company, it is about asking yourself that ‘do I need to hire now or latter. Am I in need of them now or not, Bandele said , adding that CEOs of organizations must add values to their staff under them, “the youthful entrepreneur said.

Bandele also spoke on the importance of transparency, fairness communication, empathy for staffs and fairness in dealing with every staff without discrimination among others.

“You need to add values to their lives. How do you do this ? The answers are simple, you need to be transparent all the time as transparency helps to make your beliefs in you.

Don’t discriminate on the basis of their religion, culture, tradition or creed. Also develop the habits of having empathy for you staffs , be human, share their joy and even their personal problems. Allow them to grow on the job, learn from their mistakes. All these will help your staff to belief in the company goals, visions and at the end the end of the day, success will trickle in like it was never before. These are keys that open doors of success for companies. It not a magic or rocket science, it is just simple tools which can be use to achieve organizational goals.” Bandele said.

The summit, according to the organizer “ curates a powerful blend of career tools, entrepreneurial support, and corporate access—enabling attendees to walk in with questions and walk out with opportunities”

“We are not saying everyone has to start a business,” said the summit’s convener, Joel Moses Babatunde. “Some people will build powerful careers in the workforce, and they need guidance and opportunity to do so.”

The event facilitated over 250 direct job interviews with participating employers, while more than 500 career consultations provided immediate professional development support, including CV optimization, LinkedIn profile enhancement, and interview preparation.

Unlike traditional conferences, the summit operated as what organizers termed a “career laboratory,” with participants engaging in real-time skills development rather than passive learning. Professional headshots, networking sessions, and industry-specific workshops addressed immediate employability gaps.

Career strategist Emmanuel Faith led salary negotiation workshops, while networking specialist Olajide King conducted sessions on professional relationship building. The practical focus reflected growing recognition that Nigeria’s workforce challenges require intervention beyond traditional education models.

Day two deepened the focus with keynote presentations from established entrepreneurs, including Selar CEO Douglas Kendyson, who shared insights on scaling digital businesses in Nigeria’s evolving economy. Panel discussions addressed workplace mental health, integrity in leadership, and sustainable business growth.

The summit’s $1,000 pitch contest highlighted emerging entrepreneurial talent, with participants presenting business solutions across technology, agriculture, and creative industries. Winners received both funding and ongoing mentorship support.

Sycamore Group, the summit’s headline sponsor, positioned the event within broader private sector workforce development initiatives. The fintech company has been actively supporting skills development programs as part of its commitment to economic inclusion.

“We believe in supporting initiatives that make a difference in people’s lives,” said Onyinye Okonji, Co-founder of Sycamore. “Nigeria’s youth represent our greatest economic asset, but only if we can successfully connect their potential with market opportunities. Events like AWS demonstrate how private sector investment in human capital development can generate real returns for both individuals and the broader economy.”

The Lagos event marks the first in a planned series of workforce summits across Africa, with future editions scheduled for Kigali and Nairobi, as the continent addresses youth employment challenges that affect economic development.