Ego Foundation Partners Access Holdings to Train Pupils in Ijora

Funmi Ogundare

EGO Foundation has partnered with Access Holdings Plc, to train about 100 primary school pupils in Ijora, Lagos, as part of a  long-term, impact-driven corporate social responsibility (CSR) focused on early human capital development rather than short-term interventions.

The initiative, implemented through EGO Foundation’s ‘Lead the Future’ programme, reached pupils from four public primary schools drawn from Badia, Olojowon and Irati.

The programme exposed the pupils to lessons on self-leadership, teamwork, critical thinking and civic responsibility, skills increasingly recognised as crucial for academic success and future employability.

Speaking at the programme, the Executive Director of EGO Foundation, Toluwase Olaniyan, explained that the partnership reflects a deliberate investment in nation-building.

“Access Holdings understands that investing in primary school children isn’t just charity, it’s nation-building. Their support allows us to reach schools that would never have access to programmes like this otherwise,” he said.

Unlike traditional CSR models centred on one-off donations or infrastructure projects, the partnership, he stated, prioritises sustained programming with measurable outcomes.

“It aligns with a growing trend among Nigerian corporates to support initiatives with clear theories of change and long-term social returns,” Olaniyan said.

For Access Holdings, he noted that the focus on early education serves both social and strategic objectives.

“Beyond strengthening its reputation in host communities, the initiative aligns with national priorities on youth empowerment and contributes to building a confident, skilled workforce for the future. Studies consistently show that early educational interventions deliver higher long-term returns than programmes introduced at later stages.

“If we wait until secondary school or university, we’ve already missed critical years,” Olaniyan stressed. “We want these children to see themselves as leaders now, not someday in the future.”

EGO Foundation, the executive director stated, plans to scale the ‘Lead the Future’ programme to additional Lagos schools, adopting a sustainability model that emphasises teacher training.

Under this approach, teachers will be equipped to embed leadership education into everyday school activities through student-led clubs and curriculum integration, reducing long-term dependence on external facilitators.

“The foundation also intends to track participants’ academic performance, school engagement and leadership behaviours over time, providing data-driven evidence of impact. This monitoring framework will help refine the programme while offering Access Holdings measurable insights into the social returns on its investment,” Olaniyan stressed.