TEDGlobal 2017
Kola Masha: How farming could employ Africa's young workforce -- and help build peace
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Africa's youth is coming of age rapidly, but job growth on the continent isn't keeping up. The result: financial insecurity and, in some cases, a turn towards insurgent groups. In a passionate talk, agricultural entrepreneur Kola Masha details his plan to bring leadership and investment to small farmers in Africa -- and employ a rising generation.
Kola Masha - Agricultural leader
Kola Masha is the founder of Babban Gona, the first for-profit social enterprise in history to be awarded the prestigious Skoll Award, due to its financial sustainability and highly scalable impact. The organization is part-owned by the farmers they serve. Full bio
Kola Masha is the founder of Babban Gona, the first for-profit social enterprise in history to be awarded the prestigious Skoll Award, due to its financial sustainability and highly scalable impact. The organization is part-owned by the farmers they serve. Full bio
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00:12
Since 1997, researchers
at the University of Sussex
at the University of Sussex
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have monitored global trends
in armed conflict.
in armed conflict.
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Their research clearly shows
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that in Africa, over the last 10 years,
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armed conflict has gone up by sevenfold.
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Let's think about that:
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sevenfold in a single decade.
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Why is this?
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We believe, as oxygen is to fire,
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so are unemployed youth to insecurity.
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We have a lot of youth on this continent.
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Youth like Sandra,
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who, on a Saturday morning in March 2014,
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woke up excited at the prospects
of getting a coveted job
of getting a coveted job
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at the Nigerian Immigration Services.
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She kissed her daughter goodbye,
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left her home,
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never to return.
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Sandra and 15 other young Nigerians
died that day, applying for a job,
died that day, applying for a job,
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in the ensuing stampede,
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as tens of thousands of people applied
for a few thousand open positions.
for a few thousand open positions.
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In the last 20 years, 20 million youth
have entered the Nigerian workforce alone.
have entered the Nigerian workforce alone.
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Today, half our population
is under the age of 18.
is under the age of 18.
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That's almost 80 million people
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that will be entering the workforce
in the next 20 years.
in the next 20 years.
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My friends,
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if a wave of 20 million people
entering the workforce
entering the workforce
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triggered Niger Delta crisis,
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Fulani herdsmen crisis
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and Boko Haram,
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I ask you:
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What will four times that number do?
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To do my part to solve this challenge,
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in 2012, I moved to a small village
in northern Nigeria,
in northern Nigeria,
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in the center of the area
most recently hit
most recently hit
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by the spread of insecurity,
brutal bombings and searing poverty,
brutal bombings and searing poverty,
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with an idea:
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Could we create an economic buffer
to halt the spread of this insecurity,
to halt the spread of this insecurity,
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by unlocking the power of agriculture
as a job-creation engine?
as a job-creation engine?
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We knew this had been done before
in countries like Thailand,
in countries like Thailand,
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where, in 1980, they suffered from
the same economic challenges as us.
the same economic challenges as us.
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Today, however, Thailand produces
two million cars a year --
two million cars a year --
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more than the United Kingdom --
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with over 30 percent of its workforce
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as highly commercial,
profitable small farmers,
profitable small farmers,
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with an unemployment rate
of less than one percent.
of less than one percent.
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How did they do this?
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In the 80s, Thailand dramatically improved
the productivity of its small farmers,
the productivity of its small farmers,
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ensuring that it was able
to start to dominate
to start to dominate
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export markets for produce.
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Building on this strength,
they attracted investment
they attracted investment
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and started to process,
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being able to export higher-value products
like starch from cassava.
like starch from cassava.
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Finally, coupled
with investment in education,
with investment in education,
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they started to expand
to even higher-value manufacturing.
to even higher-value manufacturing.
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To make our idea a reality
and follow a path similar to Thailand,
and follow a path similar to Thailand,
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we knew that we would have to sell
young farmers on farming.
young farmers on farming.
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A young man in northern Nigeria,
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for the purpose of today's
discussion, we'll call "Saminu,"
discussion, we'll call "Saminu,"
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made it very clear to me
that this would not be easy.
that this would not be easy.
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Saminu grew up in a beautiful village
in northern Nigeria.
in northern Nigeria.
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And he tells wondrous stories
of playing for hours with his friends,
of playing for hours with his friends,
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running up and down
the beautiful rock formations
the beautiful rock formations
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that dot the countryside around his home.
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Despite this beauty, Saminu knew
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that the first chance he got,
he would leave.
he would leave.
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He did not want to be a farmer.
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Growing up, he saw his parents
work so hard as farmers,
work so hard as farmers,
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but barely get by.
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As he says, they had "babu" -- nothing.
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Young farmers like Saminu
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do not have access to the cash
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to buy the farming products
to pair with their hard work
to pair with their hard work
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to be successful.
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When their meager harvest came in,
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desperate for cash, they would sell
most of it at fire-sale prices,
most of it at fire-sale prices,
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when, if they could just wait six months,
they could get 50 percent more.
they could get 50 percent more.
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Hence, Saminu left to the city,
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where he soon realized
that life was not easy.
that life was not easy.
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He borrowed a very old motorcycle,
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with tires that were
more patches than tires,
more patches than tires,
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to become a motorcycle taxi driver.
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He lived in constant fear every day
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that his precious, tattered motorcycle
would be ripped away from him,
would be ripped away from him,
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as it had before.
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But he got it back, thankfully.
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He knew of others, however,
who were not so lucky --
who were not so lucky --
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other young men who,
once they'd lost their motorcycles,
once they'd lost their motorcycles,
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became destitute.
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Angry, these young men set
out to wreak vengeance
out to wreak vengeance
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on a society that they believed
had turned its back on them.
had turned its back on them.
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Saminu told me that
they joined insurgent groups,
they joined insurgent groups,
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often acting as getaway drivers
in bombings and kidnappings.
in bombings and kidnappings.
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To end this cycle of insecurity,
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we must make farming a viable choice.
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We must ensure that these young men,
on their small farms,
on their small farms,
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can earn enough money
to make a life for themselves;
to make a life for themselves;
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to make a future.
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The question now is how.
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Recognizing that Africa
has grassroot-level leadership,
has grassroot-level leadership,
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we simply developed a model
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to bring the professional management
and investment to scale
and investment to scale
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to these grassroot leaders.
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We called it "Babban Gona" --
"great farm" in Hausa.
"great farm" in Hausa.
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Upon reaching the village in 2012,
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I traveled from community to community,
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trying to convince people of our idea,
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trying to recruit farmer members.
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We failed woefully that first year,
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barely recruiting 100 brave souls.
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But we persevered.
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We kept doing what we promised,
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slowly we gained their trust.
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More farmers joined us.
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Fast-forward now five years.
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With a passionate and committed team
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and the tremendous support
of our partners,
of our partners,
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we grew dramatically,
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today, serving 20,000 small farmers,
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enabling them to double their yields
and triple their net income
and triple their net income
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relative to their peers.
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We are very proud of the fact --
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(Applause)
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Fast-forward three years,
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Saminu has earned enough money
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to buy three goats for his mother
to start a goat-rearing business,
to start a goat-rearing business,
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owns his own retail store
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and bought not one, but two motorcycles,
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with vanity license plates: "Babban Gona."
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(Applause)
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My friends,
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in the next 20 years,
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over 400 million Saminus
are entering the African workforce,
are entering the African workforce,
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with potentially half of them
having opportunities in agriculture.
having opportunities in agriculture.
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To unlock these opportunities,
through models similar to ours,
through models similar to ours,
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they would require 150 billion dollars
a year in financing.
a year in financing.
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This is a big number.
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But if we can tap into commercial debt,
it is a small number --
it is a small number --
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only 0.1 percent of all the debt
in the world today,
in the world today,
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10 cents out of every 100 dollars.
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This is why we designed our model
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to be very different from conventional
agricultural development programs.
agricultural development programs.
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In a few short years, we have shown
that our model works,
that our model works,
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is high-impact and can turn a profit,
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attracting commercial investors
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that do not typically invest
in small farmers in Africa.
in small farmers in Africa.
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Imagine a world where millions
of young men across Africa,
of young men across Africa,
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hardworking young men,
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have other options.
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I know these driven, ambitious young men
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will make the right choice.
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We can realize this dream
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if they have a choice.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kola Masha - Agricultural leaderKola Masha is the founder of Babban Gona, the first for-profit social enterprise in history to be awarded the prestigious Skoll Award, due to its financial sustainability and highly scalable impact. The organization is part-owned by the farmers they serve.
Why you should listen
At Babban Gona, Kola Masha oversees Nigeria's largest corn producing enterprise through a program that franchises thousands of mini corn farmer cooperatives across northern Nigeria, increasing the profitability of the smallholder farmers by three times above the national average. This dramatic increase in net income is accomplished by delivering an integrated holistic package of training, farm inputs and marketing services, on credit. Babban Gona has been able to deliver this credit while maintaining one of the highest repayment rates in the world, currently above 99.9 percent. The project was created to attract youth to agriculture and away from the looming instability of extremist groups.
Prior to moving back home to Nigeria, Masha held multiple leadership roles in leading global organizations, including General Electric and Abiomed. Upon moving home to Nigeria, he gained extensive public and private sector experience as a Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Federal Minister of Agriculture and as CEO of a subsidiary of the Notore Group, one of the country's leading agricultural conglomerates.
Kola Masha | Speaker | TED.com