Reach the 20 Million Nigerian Youth Not in Employment, Education, or Training

An estimated 20 million Nigerian young people aged 15 to 24 are Not in Employment, Education, or Training. They are disproportionately female, rural, and from northern states. They did not drop out of education because they chose to — they dropped out because of poverty, early marriage, displacement, or family obligations. And they have not been reached by any programme because existing youth interventions are designed for people who are already partially connected to systems. Your challenge is to design a re-engagement programme for NEET young Nigerians in one northern state. The programme must reach them where they are (not where institutions are), offer a credible pathway to economic participation within 12 months, address the specific barriers relevant to the demographic in your chosen state, and achieve a sustainable cost below ₦60,000 per participant. Submit a programme design document (max 12 pages) including: NEET profile and barriers analysis for your chosen state, the outreach model, the re-engagement pathway, how family and community permission is obtained, what economic participation looks like at 12 months, cost model, and a plan to reach 10,000 participants. Judging criteria: 40% barrier analysis quality and outreach model, 30% re-engagement pathway design, 20% family and community permission approach, 10% cost model.