Young entrepreneurs and business leaders from China and Africa have called for practical partnerships to turn ideas into impactful enterprises at the sixth China-Africa session of the Global Link for Youth Actions in Nigeria's capital, Abuja.

 

During the dialogue, participants shared how Chinese-supported training initiatives and exchange programs had helped shape their careers and businesses. 

 

Abiola Fatima Issa, Nigeria's first female train driver, said her training at the Chinese-supported LubanWorkshop had equipped her with practical skills and helped her overcome barriers in railway engineering. "When I was in Luban Workshop training, my mentor did not see me as a woman learner... but as a young, capable Nigerian who was willing to learn a skill," Issa, who works for China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, said.She expressed hope that such dialogues would continue to deepen people-to-people exchanges, "with youths being the greatest beneficiaries." 

 

Solomon Ekundayo, chief operating officer of Greener Bricks Solution, a climate-tech firm that turns plastic waste into eco-friendly pavement bricks in Nigeria, said connections with Chinese partners had broadened his perspective as a social innovator. He participated in youth programs in China's Shanghai and Wuhan earlier this year. "Working with the Chinese or getting to know the Chinese ecosystem has really changed my thought process," Ekundayo said, adding that the programs had helped him understand that "there is no impossibility." He said the experience also helped him connect with mentors who improved the design of his brick-making machines and introduced him to innovative industrial practices.

 

Xinhua