Foundation for Innovation and Technology Development has launched a new programme aimed at helping Nigerians earn between $10 and $15 daily, positioning it as a direct response to rising poverty and low income levels across rural communities.
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Chairman of the foundation, Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, said the initiative, known as Transformed Communities (TransComs), is designed to move millions of people, especially in the South-West, from earning about $2 per day to significantly higher daily income within a few years.
He spoke on Tuesday during the unveiling of the South-West TransCom Programme held at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture in Ibadan, where government officials, development partners, and private sector stakeholders gathered to discuss implementation.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka said the programme is not just another policy idea but a structured intervention focused on income growth at the grassroots level.
“What we are chasing is to take people from this so-called $2 per day to $10 per day in the next three to four years,” he said.
“Our target is to lift people from $2 to $10 to $15 per day and ensure that these communities become poles of prosperity instead of poles of poverty.”
The TransComs model, he explained, will cluster three to five villages with populations ranging from 2,000 to 8,000 into integrated development hubs designed to support productivity and economic activity.
Within these hubs, basic infrastructure such as electricity, water, roads, schools, healthcare services, and internet connectivity will be provided to create an environment where residents can work, produce, and earn more.
According to him, improving daily income is central to the programme, and that can only happen if rural communities are made economically viable.
“When we make life livable in those places, rural-urban drift will stop. Young people will stay, create value, and build livelihoods,” he said.
The programme is being implemented through a partnership involving the South-West Development Commission (SWDC), the Foundation for Technology Innovation and Sustainable Development, and other public and private sector actors.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka said the approach combines infrastructure, agriculture, and enterprise support to ensure that people are not just living in improved environments but are also earning consistently.
He stressed that value addition is a critical part of the plan, especially in agriculture, where farmers often lose a large portion of their produce.
He said post-harvest losses account for as much as 70 per cent of agricultural output in some areas due to lack of roads, storage, and processing facilities.
“A farmer produces onions or potatoes, but the produce is lost because there is no road, no storage, no processing. That is unacceptable,” he said.
“At the centre of TransComs is value addition—processing what we produce so that farmers can earn more.”
He added that the programme is structured around seven pillars, including infrastructure, agricultural productivity, agro-processing, social protection, microfinance, digital systems, and governance.
To support power supply, he disclosed that a public-private partnership is already underway to deploy hybrid energy systems combining solar and gas, with an estimated capacity of 0.7 megawatts for pilot communities.
He pointed to Fapote in the Ogbomoso area of Oyo State as one of the pilot locations, noting that ongoing road construction by the state government has already improved access to the community.
“All we need now is just about one kilometre to complete the link, and the government has already done the heavy lifting,” he said.
Oyelaran-Oyeyinka emphasised that the programme is action-driven and requires commitment from all stakeholders involved.
“This is not a conference to talk. It is about commitment and partnership. What are we going to do about this?” he said.
He warned that failure to act decisively would mean continued poverty for future generations.
“We should not be comfortable living like this. If we do not act, our children will inherit the same poverty. This is an assignment we must finish,” he said.
In his goodwill message, Femi Alaka from the Office of the Vice President described the initiative as a significant step toward coordinated regional development.
“Today marks not just the unveiling of a programme, but the beginning of a shared journey rooted in collaboration, innovation, and a collective commitment to sustainable development,” he said.
He stressed that collaboration across sectors is essential to achieving meaningful results.
“Transformation does not occur in isolation. It requires partnership—between government and the private sector, between institutions and communities, and among individuals willing to act decisively,” he added.
Also speaking, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SWDC, Charles Akinola, said the programme was developed as a response to decades of increasing rural poverty despite the region’s economic strength.
“Within a region of extraordinary enterprise and advantage, rural poverty has deepened steadily for more than four decades,” he said.
“TransComs is our structured response to reverse that trend.”
Akinola said the model draws from past development efforts, including farm settlement schemes introduced during the old Western Region under Obafemi Awolowo, which supported agricultural growth and social development.
“The philosophy was simple: if you give a young person a productive future where they are, they will not leave,” he said.
He added that previous programmes such as OPTICOM, DFFRI, and other state-level initiatives showed potential but were limited by weak execution and lack of scale.
“TransComs is not entirely new; it is the result of 70 years of learning—drawing from both successes and shortcomings,” he said.
According to him, the programme will be rolled out across 137 local government areas in the six South-West states, with pilot projects already underway and a broader rollout expected in the third quarter of 2026.
He said the initiative aligns with national priorities, including food security, job creation, and inclusive economic growth.
“The programme is moving at pace because the problem has not been waiting,” he added.
Akinola also noted that stakeholder engagement is central to the programme’s success, with the roundtable designed to bring together government agencies, investors, development partners, and community representatives.
“The outcomes from these discussions will form the basis of an Action Committee charged with delivering the TransComs within the year,” he said.
The Secretary to the Oyo State Government (SSG), Prof Musbau Babatunde, declared the two-day conference open, signalling state-level support for the initiative.
Stakeholders at the event expressed optimism that the programme could significantly improve income levels if properly implemented.
Many noted that the focus on infrastructure, processing, and local economic hubs directly addresses long-standing challenges in rural communities.
The programme is expected to reduce poverty, create jobs, and reposition rural areas as centres of production rather than areas people leave in search of opportunity.
For participants, the key issue will be execution and sustained collaboration across sectors.
But with a clear income target of $10 to $15 daily, the TransComs initiative is being positioned as a practical pathway to improving livelihoods and creating more balanced economic growth across the region.
