Everyone deserves an opportunity to prosper

Join the movement to stop poverty and violence from threatening Africa's future, triggering a mass migration crisis

Everyone deserves an opportunity to prosper

Join the movement to stop poverty and violence from threatening Africa's future, triggering a mass migration crisis

a downward spiral

Everyone deserves the opportunity to prosper, free from poverty, and ensuing violence.

Yet in West Africa, a downward spiral of increased violence is destabilizing local economies, increasing migrations and threatening the stability of the broader region and potentially Europe.

At the heart of it all are unemployed youth at the risk of being recruited to conduct violent acts.

A DOWNWARD SPIRAL

Everyone deserves the opportunity to prosper, free from poverty and ensuing violence.

Yet in West Africa, a downward spiral of increased violence is destabilizing local economies, increasing migrations and threatening the stability of the broader region and potentially Europe.

At the heart of it all are unemployed youth at the risk of being recruited to conduct violent acts.

casting a shadow of fear, anxiety, and desperation

10x

The size of the current migrant crisis

50%

of W. Africa’s population is in Nigeria

tens of millions

of potential migrants

what can be done?

We believe that the best way to disrupt this downward spiral of poverty and violence is to create opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work for the very demographic at the risk of being led astray: The Rural Youth.

We make farming much more profitable

We started our journey at the epicenter of this crisis in Northern Nigeria, Babban Gona’s innovative technology platform and program makes farming much more profitable for smallholder farmers, turning at-risk youth into successful entrepreneurs.

This, in turn, stimulate local economies, disrupting the cycle of poverty and violence. 

what can be done?

We believe that the best way to disrupt this downward spiral of poverty and violence is to create opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work for  the very demographic at the risk of being led astray: The Rural Youth.

We make farming much more profitable

Located at the epicenter of this crisis in Northern Nigeria, Babban Gona’s innovative technology platform and program makes farming much more profitable for smallholder farmers, turning at-risk youth into successful entrepreneurs.

This, in turn, stimulate local economies, disrupting the cycle of poverty and violence. 

THE BABBAN GONA SOLUTION

double profitability vs average farmer

By improving crop yield per hectare, reducing cost of production, and increasing unit price at market.

HALT THE CYCLE OF POVERTY AND VIOLENCE

By turning unemployed youth at risk of conducting violent acts into successful agricultural entrepreneurs.

CREATE PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES

Life improves as violence is reduced and individuals, families and economies prosper.

Join the movement to halt the cycle of poverty and violence to create prosperous communities

the babban gona solution

double profitability vs average farmer

By improving crop yield per hectare, reducing cost of production, and increasing unit price at market.

HALT THE CYCLE OF POVERTY AND VIOLENCE

By turning unemployed youth at risk of conducting violent acts into successful agricultural entrepreneurs.

CREATE PROSPEROUS COMMUNITIES

Life improves as violence is reduced and individuals, families and economies prosper.

Join the movement to halt the cycle of poverty and violence to create prosperous communities

Want more detailed information about our methods?

download our theory of change

SINCE 2010

0

Jobs created

+2x

Net income increase compared to the national average

0

Acres sustainably farmed by smallholder members

0

Individuals in local communities impacted

Resulting in the injection of tens of millions of dollars into rural economies, dramatically decreasing poverty, violence and migration. 

SINCE 2010

0

Jobs created

+2x

Net income increase compared to the national

0

Acres sustainably farmed by smallholder members

0

Individuals in local communities impacted

join the movement

We can’t allow this cycle of poverty and violence to continue to threaten Africa’s future and a mass migration crisis in Europe. There is simply too much at stake.

Join the movement to provide millions of youth dignified and fulfilling work, halting the cycle of poverty and violence and know you are helping millions of people prosper.

PEOPLE ARE TALKING

about babban gona

Rising youth unemployment in West Africa increases violence, which destabilizes regional economies and threatens to accelerate a migration problem that would dwarf the current refugee crisis.

Located in Nigeria in the heart of West Africa, Babban Gona uses a unique technology platform to make farming more profitable to create millions of youth jobs, interrupting the root causes of violence, stimulating strong economic growth, and alleviating the migration problem.

aBOUT bABBAN gONA

Rising youth unemployment in West Africa increases violence, which destabilizes regional economies and threatens to accelerate a migration problem that would dwarf the current refugee crisis.

Located in Nigeria in the heart of West Africa, Babban Gona uses a unique technology platform to make farming more profitable to create millions of youth jobs, interrupting the root causes of violence, stimulating strong economic growth, and alleviating the migration problem.

climate change

Babban Gona continues to drive efforts to simultaneously enable farmers to mitigate climate change, as well as adapt and build resilience.

CLimaTE CHANGE

Babban Gona continues to drive efforts to simultaneously enable farmers to mitigate climate change, as well as adapt and build resilience.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

 

Babban Gona goes a step further to support rural women in establishing businesses and overcoming existing social and cultural constraints to accessing education and training, financing, and inputs.

Address: 15a, Sowemimo Street, Ikeja GRA, Lagos State.

Email: [email protected]

RC No: 1022040

OUR NEWSLETTER

Frank Altman

Director; Finance, Audit’s Risk Committee Chairman

Pioneer of secondary markets for community development and $3.5B+ in managed funding.

Frank Altman is the founder and first CEO of the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF), USAwhere he pioneered secondary markets for economic development loans. Under his leadership, CRF funded over $3.5 billion in loans across 50 U.S. states. He was instrumental in designing the federal New Markets Tax Credit and is an advisor to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Altman is an Ashoka Senior Fellow and the author of A New Capitalism: Creating A Just Economy That Works For All. He brings global expertise in risk management and capital structures to Babban Gona.

Michael Jainzik

Independent Non-Executive Director

Michael Jainzik works as an independent consultant and brings his extensive expertise in the areas of agricultural finance, international investments, risk management and corporate governance. He is currently based in Rome, Italy.
 
From 2001 to 2011, Michael worked as an investment professional at KfW Development Bank, focusing on international debt financing and equity investments in investment funds and banking institutions, mainly in the areas of agricultural finance and microfinance. From 2011 to 2015 he worked as Director of KfW’s office in Windhoek. In this role, he helped manage and develop KfW’s EUR 250 million portfolio in Namibia. From 2015 to 2017, he took on the position of Head of Corporate Development at Access Microfinance Holding, where he was responsible for structuring and leading a merger process between Access Holding and another company.
 
Prior to joining Babban Gona, Michael served as a non-executive director in Access Bank Azerbaijan (2006-2011, Chairman), Belarusian Bank for Small Business (2008-2011), Rural Impulse Fund II Luxemburg (2010-2011) and AB Bank Zambia (2011-2016).
 
Michael studied economics and management at the Universities of Lüneburg and Witten/Herdecke (Germany) and at ETEA – Universidad Loyola in Córdoba (Spain) and holds a Master’s degree in economics and management.

Alhaji Bello Maccido

Non-Executive Director

Over 32 years of executive leadership in corporate and investment banking.

Alhaji Bello Maccido is a distinguished leader in the Nigerian financial services sector. He currently serves as the Chairman of FBN Merchant Bank Ltd. and has previously held board positions at FBN Holdings Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Legacy Pension Manager Limited.

He holds the traditional title of “Wakilin Sokoto” and is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

Alhaji Maccido’s educational background includes an LL.B from Ahmadu Bello University and an MBA from Wayne State University. He is a Barrister at Law (BL) of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and an alumnus of executive programs at Harvard Business School and IMD Lausanne.

Muhammad Sanusi, CON

Chairman of the Board

His Highness Muhammad Sanusi was appointed the 10th Governor and Chairman of the Board, Central Bank of Nigeria on 3 June 2009. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and also has a first-class degree in Sharia and Islamic Studies from the African International University, Khartoum, Sudan.
 
From working as a lecturer at the Ahmadu Bello University, where he taught Economics, he joined the banking industry in 1985, and by January 2009 had risen to General Manager and Group Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria PLC, Nigeria’s oldest and biggest bank. Mallam Sanusi has been conferred with a National Award of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and has also been awarded the “Global Central Bank Governor for 2010” by The Banker Magazine, a publication of the Financial Times.
 
He was also voted Central Bank Governor of the Year for Sub-Saharan Africa 2009 (an award he won again in 2010) by Emerging Markets, a publication of Euromoney Institutional Investors. In 2011, Mr. Sanusi was named Forbes Africa Person of the Year for 2011. He was also listed by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Kola Masha (Managing Director) Prior to Babban Gona, Kola was a Managing Director and CEO of a major subsidiary in the Notore.

Lola Masha

Co-Founder’s Director

Dr. Lola Masha is a seasoned technology leader with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of mobility, technology, and agriculture. She currently serves as a Partner at Antler, a global early-stage venture capital firm. Previously, she was the Regional General Manager for North, East, and West Africa at Bolt, overseeing strategic operations in a high-growth mobility sector.

Her career includes leadership roles as Director of Trust and Safety at OLX Group (overseeing 30+ markets) and Country Manager for OLX Nigeria. She was also one of the earliest employees at Google Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Masha holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.Sc. from the University of Virginia.

Bukola Masha

Managing Director

First leader of a for-profit social enterprise to win the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship.

Prior to co-founding Babban Gona, Kola was CEO of a subsidiary in the Notore Group, where he led a commercial strategy to sell one million tons of fertilizer and raised $130 million in equity.

He has held leadership roles at GE and Abiomed and served as a Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture.

Under his leadership, Babban Gona became the first for-profit social enterprise to win the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship, recognizing the organization’s innovative approach to transforming smallholder farming in Nigeria.

He holds an MBA with Honors from Harvard and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from MIT.

Kola Masha

 

Prior to Babban Gona, Kola was a Managing Director and CEO of a major subsidiary in the Notore Group, one of Nigeria’s leading agricultural conglomerates, where he raised US$24 Million to develop an integrated agricultural trading, production and processing business.

Furthermore, he led the development and execution of Notore’s commercial strategy across West and Central Africa, preparing the company to sell one million tons of fertilizer and establish a modern seed business.

He led the effort to raise $130 million in equity and the restructuring of $360 Million in debt. Kola brings significant leadership experience in venture capital, corporate finance, business development, marketing and operations, across four continents with multiple global companies, including GE, Notore and Abiomed. In addition, Kola brings extensive public sector experience as Senior Advisor to the Nigerian Minister of Agriculture.

In recognition for his leadership in driving positive change on the African Continent, he has received several global awards including the prestigious Eisenhower Fellowship, a leading leadership institute led by General Collin Powell and appointed to the Board of the African Enterprise Challenge Fund, a $250 Million fund that awards grants and repayable grants to private sector companies to support innovative business ideas in agriculture, agribusiness, renewable energy, adaptation to climate change and access to information and financial services. Kola holds an MBA (Honors) from Harvard and a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.