Germany Pledges €9m to Support Skills Development for Youth(SKYE 11) MSMEs in Nigeria.
By Raymond Enoch
Germany has deepened its backing for skills development and job creation in Nigeria with a fresh commitment of €9 million and an extension of its flagship “Skills Development for Youth Employment” (SKYE II) programme until October 2028.
At the 2026 Operational Plan Workshop of the SKYE II programme held in Abuja on 17 November 2025, the German Embassy joined Nigerian partners, Switzerland, GIZ and other key stakeholders to shape the next phase of cooperation.
Representing Germany, Dr. Karin Jansen, First Secretary and Head of Development Cooperation, reaffirmed her country’s long-term commitment to advancing vocational training, strengthening micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and expanding economic opportunities for young Nigerians.
She announced that the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) had approved an additional €9 million in funding for SKYE, alongside an extension of the programme’s lifespan to October 2028.
According to Dr. Jansen, the new phase of SKYE II will place stronger emphasis on green skills, women’s economic empowerment and public–private collaboration, in line with global priorities for sustainable and climate-smart growth.
The SKYE programme, implemented by GIZ in partnership with Nigerian institutions and the private sector, focuses on equipping young people with market-relevant skills while improving the capacity of MSMEs to create decent and productive jobs.
Workshop participants from government, development partners and the business community used the Abuja session to review progress and agree on operational priorities for 2026, including scaling up vocational training, integrating green competencies into curricula and building stronger linkages between training centres and industry.
Germany and Nigeria, together with other partners, stressed that sustained investment in skills and enterprise development is critical to reducing unemployment, driving inclusive growth and ensuring that more Nigerians can tap into opportunities in the green and digital economy.
They reaffirmed a shared commitment to using the extended SKYE II programme as a platform to promote sustainable development and create opportunities for all across the country.
