Design the Workplace Mental Health Programme Nigerian Employers Will Actually Use

Nigeria's formal workforce is under significant mental health strain. A 2025 survey of Lagos-based workers found that 61% reported symptoms consistent with burnout and 38% with clinical anxiety. Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) — the standard corporate mental health tool — have extremely low utilisation in Nigeria, partly because of stigma, partly because the services available are culturally irrelevant, and partly because HR processes feel surveillance-like rather than supportive. Your challenge is to design a workplace mental health programme for Nigerian formal sector employers (organisations with 50 to 500 employees) that achieves at least 20% utilisation among eligible employees, is culturally adapted for Nigerian workplace contexts, protects employee confidentiality from management, and is affordable at under ₦5,000 per employee per month. Submit a programme design document (max 12 pages) including: the core services offered, how stigma is reduced within the programme, the confidentiality architecture, how it is culturally adapted (give specific examples), the employer HR integration model, cost model, and a plan to deploy in 20 Nigerian companies in the first year. Judging criteria: 35% cultural adaptation and stigma reduction design, 30% confidentiality architecture, 20% utilisation strategy, 15% employer acquisition plan.