Tropical General Investments (TGI) Group, a leading contributor to Nigeria’s economy, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have signed a five-year cooperation agreement to advance socio-economic inclusion and co-create sustainable solutions for forcibly displaced people in Nigeria. This partnership was formalised by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at a ceremony attended by key representatives from both organizations in Abuja on Tuesday.
This novel partnership between UNHCR and TGI leverages both parties’ core expertise and knowledge to advance the socio-economic inclusion of forcibly displaced persons and their host communities in Nigeria. This will be achieved by designing fit-for-purpose and market-relevant solutions that enable target populations to actively engage in agricultural income-generating activities.
TGI’s Vice Chairman, Farouk Gumel, commented on the partnership and TGI’s expertise in creating community-centric initiatives as part of its broader commitment to driving inclusivity and adding value to communities. “We are proud to cement our partnership with UNHCR, which will see to the integration of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and refugees into the forefront of Nigeria’s workforce. We believe in inclusive growth and community empowerment and we will leverage our work with smallholder farmers in our outgrower programmes as a model to integrate these communities.”
Nigeria is estimated to have an arable land area of 34 million hectares, of which only 6.5 million hectares are used for permanent crops. The agricultural sector in Nigeria accounts for about 23 per cent of the country’s GDP and employs around 70 per cent of the country’s workforce.
Leveraging the country’s growth potential in the agriculture sector and the skills of IDPs, refugees and host communities, the collaboration between TGI and UNHCR will explore prospects for investments that unlock livelihood opportunities for thousands of people in need.
“Nigeria is home to 3.6 million IDPs and 108,000 refugees. UNHCR is at the forefront of addressing their urgent needs. One of our key priorities is to create self-reliance opportunities for refugees and IDPs. This partnership with TGI is central to our collaborative approach, aiming for sustainable solutions and reducing dependence on humanitarian assistance,” said Arjun Jain, UNHCR’s Representative to Nigeria.
The collaboration will focus on value chain integration, land recovery, agricultural inputs, skills development, employment, and financial inclusion. Working closely with government authorities, development actors, and community leaders, TGI and UNHCR will facilitate large-scale agricultural projects and other economic initiatives that provide employment opportunities and foster stronger connections between displaced communities and state services.
Approximately 120 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced today due to persecution, conflict, violence, and climate change. Over 3.7 million forcibly displaced people reside in Nigeria, representing almost 3% of the global displaced population.
Most IDPs in Nigeria have been living in the middle-belt, northeast and northwest of the country for over a decade, within states that face grave economic challenges. Some 70 percent of the refugees in the country live within the host community with the rest residing in settlements. Additionally, there are around 400,000 Nigerian refugees who are living in exile, largely in the Lake Chad Basin countries; many are keen on returning home voluntarily, in safety and dignity.
UNHCR has been at the forefront of responding to the needs of IDPs and refugees. The increasing number of displaced persons has exacerbated resources and increased dependency on aid, prompting UNHCR and other humanitarian actors to shift strategies towards sustainable solutions and self-reliance.
