Kola Masha is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and the founder of Babban Gona. He founded his firm in 2010 to bring jobs and stability to his home country. Worldwide, Nigeria is ranked among countries with high-security vulnerabilities.
The north of Nigeria is the hotbed of terrorist activities owing to the operation of Boko Haram and other bandits. Also, the Niger Delta area is another hotbed for homegrown insurgents. There are various reports about how economic factors drive disaffected people into radical groups.
Although religion is the major underlining factor in the operations of Boko Haram, economic factors cannot be downplayed. For Masha, the only way to make Nigeria secure again is to cut off the oxygen to radical groups: no jobs, no wages, and inability to feed one’s family.
After his studies at MIT and Harvard and working in leadership positions with top organizations, Masha decided to return to Nigeria in 2007 and contribute his quota to the development of Nigeria. He moved to a small town in Northern Nigeria that has experienced insurgencies and bombings to unlock the power of agriculture in addressing unemployment.
“Due to high demand for labor and low skill requirements, farming has the potential to create jobs and draw millions of young people into the sector,” Masha told Forbes.
Inspired by his U.S. grandfather, a small farm holder who was able to get out of poverty in South Dakota through the power of cooperatives, Masha established a similar model called Babban Gona, which means “Great Farm” in Hausa.
Babban Gona is dedicated to empowering small farm holders to transition from subsistence farming to commercial farming. Masha accomplished this by franchising thousands of farmer cooperatives across Northern Nigeria. “We deliver an integrated package of agronomic and financial training, farm inputs, and marketing services on credit to each cooperative, enabling its members to increase the productivity and profitability of their farm enterprise,” Masha said.
The company also disburses long-term loans to small farmers. Since the firm started operating, thousands of farmers have doubled their yields and tripled their incomes, thereby improving their livelihoods and that of their families.
“They can send more children to school, access improved nutrition especially for children and babies, afford mothers the funds to give birth in a hospital, and purchase home solar systems to ensure reliable clean power,” Masha said.
“In terms of education, a Babban Gona survey in 2016 showed that 90 percent of members were utilizing their increased net income to invest in their children’s education, by either sending more children to school or moving their children to a higher quality school,” he added.
Families who hitherto did not have electricity have leveraged their increased financial power to buy solar systems while others have opened shops to generate extra income, said Masha.
According to him, half of Babban Gona’s members are youths, who are making legitimate money through farming. Some of the youths were once members of insurgent groups. One such person is Saminu, who was once a rebel and is now making legitimate money after joining Babban Gona.
“We want to create a world where millions of hard-working young people like Saminu have options other than a life of crime and terror,” Masha said. “Given the opportunity, I know that these driven and ambitious young men will make the right choice. They just need to be given a choice,” said the social entrepreneur and recipient of a Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
The following video has more:
Will.i.am is partnering with other prominent figures to revolutionize the digital media scene by forming…
Sabelle Beraki's childhood was inundated with the lack of representation when it came to a…
Benjamin Harvey is the founder of AI Squared, a third-party software company that helps organizations…
4-year-old Kataleya rang the bell with excitement to celebrate the end of her cancer treatment.…
Dr. Anthony Baidoo of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) Department of Forest…
Carmelo Anthony is a 10-time NBA All-Star who played 19 seasons in his career. He…
Jessica Leigh Webb sought to sew a prom dress in response to a specific request…
Townsville twins Page Malau-Aduli and Paula Malau-Aduli have written their names in record books as…
Authorities in Florida announced their intention to seek the death penalty for a woman who…
Authorities said a U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to Vice President Kamala Harris had to…
Tupac Shakur's estate has threatened to take legal action against Drake after he used A.I.…
In a first for UNC Charlotte, one of its halls has been renamed in honor…
Tyreek Hill, the Miami Dolphins wide receiver known for his speed, has made a stunning…
Following a recent promotion, U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Zeita Merchant has become the service's first…
Former NBA star Dwight Howard has pledged to support Taiwan following this month’s major earthquake…