Islamic Relief and King’s Trust International (KTI) have announced a new partnership to transform the lives of thousands of young people across West Africa over the next three years.

The collaboration between Islamic Relief and KTI — an organisation founded in 2015 by King Charles III — will focus on improving employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people in Nigeria, while strengthening education programmes in Ghana and Sierra Leone.

More than 10 million young people are expected to enter the workforce in West Africa in the next 3 years. But job creation has struggled to keep pace, leaving many unemployed and at increased risk of poverty.

Meanwhile, education systems are under pressure to adapt to changing workplace demands, with advances in automation and artificial intelligence leaving young people without the tools needed to succeed.

Many leave school due to family commitments and are forced into informal work that is often insecure and poorly paid.

The organisation’s aim is to create pathways into quality employment by fostering entrepreneurial thinking, improving employability skills, and building confidence among young people aged 18 to 35 in Nigeria.

In Ghana and Sierra Leone, the programme will support education initiatives for junior high school students to cover core life skills such as communication, emotional wellbeing, confidence, inclusion, and teamwork.

Transformative programme

The approach aims to copy the success of previous KTI programmes. In Sierra Leone, 98 percent of participants said earlier initiatives had positively supported their wider education. In Nigeria, 97 percent of young people moved into employment or self-employment within six months of completing the programme.

For some participants, the impact has been transformative. Iris, a 12-year-old student from Ghana, said the programme helped rebuild her confidence and motivation to learn.

“I felt like I did not want to come to school anymore,” she said .”I thought I will stop school because I was not that good in my studies. Now, I come to school with happiness and confidence.”

“I was not brave and always looked down on myself, thinking I could not do things… Going through the sessions, I realised that I needed to be bold and believe in myself.”

Will Straw, chief executive of King’s Trust International, said the partnership comes at a critical moment: “This generation of young people in West Africa on the cusp of entering the workforce is full of potential, and brimming with energy, ideas and entrepreneurial spirit. Yet there is a very real risk that the interconnected challenges of poverty, limited opportunity and demographic changes will constrain their prospects.”

Zia Salik, interim director at Islamic Relief UK, said the collaboration reflects a shared commitment to empowering young people.

“We are proud to be working with King’s Trust International…we are optimistic about the chance to transform lives through these life-changing programmes in West Africa,” he said.