Empowering women, youth, and persons living with disabilities through sustainable agriculture, education, and climate-resilient livelihoods across Nigeria.
"Ikore — meaning Harvest in Yoruba — believes every seed of investment in a woman, a young person, or a person with a disability yields a bountiful harvest for all of Nigeria."
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Harvest
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Inclusion
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Resilience
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Innovation
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Compassion
What We Do
Our Areas of Focus
From livestock to climate resilience, we address the root causes of vulnerability with practical, evidence-based solutions.
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Small Ruminants
Goat and sheep farming programmes providing beneficiaries with starter stock, veterinary support, and market linkages to build sustainable income.
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Poultry & Chicken
Backyard and small-scale poultry farming training with inputs support, disease management, and access to feed, empowering women and youth entrepreneurs.
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Livestock & Animal Health
Comprehensive livestock support including vaccination campaigns, community animal health workers training, and disease surveillance across Northern Nigeria.
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Crop Farming & Seeds
Distribution of improved, biofortified seed varieties — rice, maize, cassava, vegetables — alongside good agronomic practices training for smallholder farmers.
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Climate Change & Resilience
Climate-smart agriculture practices, drought-resistant varieties, water harvesting, and adaptation strategies to protect livelihoods from climate shocks.
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Education & Capacity Building
Literacy, vocational skills, and agricultural extension training programmes for women, youth, and persons with disabilities to unlock their full potential.
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Nutrition & Food Security
Biofortification, kitchen gardens, and nutrition education to combat micronutrient deficiency, particularly for women of reproductive age and young children.
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Financial Inclusion
Linking beneficiaries to cooperative savings, credit facilities, and grants so they can invest in and grow their agricultural enterprises independently.
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Agroforestry & Environment
Tree planting, nature-based solutions, and sustainable land management to restore degraded environments while improving farm productivity.
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Digital Agriculture
Digital tools, e-extension services, and mobile-based reporting systems to connect farmers with knowledge, markets, and support services.
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Post-Harvest & Value Addition
Processing, storage, and packaging support to reduce post-harvest losses and help producers capture more value from their crops and livestock.
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Disability-Inclusive Agriculture
Adaptive farming tools, accessible training methods, and targeted grants ensuring persons living with disabilities are fully included in all programmes.
Our Impact
Transforming Lives at Scale
Through the parent organization Ikore International and the Foundation, our reach continues to grow every year.
10K+
Farmers directly reached in Northern Nigeria
36
Nigerian states covered by foundation programmes
600+
Livestock farmers supported with in-kind financing
150%
Increase in farm productivity for beneficiaries
60%
Improved crop yield through compost programmes
500K
Target farmers per planting season by 2027
Who We Serve
Standing With the Most Vulnerable
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Core Beneficiary Groups
The Ikore Foundation was born from a deep conviction that the most marginalized members of Nigerian society — women, young people, and persons living with disabilities — hold the greatest untapped potential for national transformation. When we invest in them, we invest in Nigeria.
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Women & Girls Women are the backbone of rural agriculture yet are chronically underserved. We provide them with assets, training, and economic pathways to self-sufficiency and leadership.
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Young People Nigeria's youth bulge is its greatest asset. We channel the energy of young Nigerians into productive agribusiness ventures and skill-building opportunities.
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Persons with Disabilities Through adaptive tools, inclusive programme design, and targeted support, we ensure no one is left behind in Nigeria's agricultural transformation.
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All 36 States + FCT From the arid North to the lush South, our programmes are designed to be contextually adaptive, reaching the hardest-to-reach communities across Nigeria.
Programs
Flagship Initiatives
Targeted programmes designed to create lasting, measurable change for our beneficiaries.
Livestock
PEACECORP II Project — Livestock
Field implementer on behalf of Ikore International.
In collaboration with ChananHill, we drive nutrition advocacy at Primary Health Centres so women can lead in identifying affordable, balanced diets for their households.
Working with seed and fertiliser suppliers to break bulk for urban households and educate them on backyard farming with nutrient-dense crops like OFSP, maize, spinach and tomatoes.
The not-for-profit arm of Ikore International, dedicated to empowering Nigeria's most vulnerable through sustainable agriculture and inclusive development.
Our Story
Born from Commitment
Ikore Empowerment Foundation (hereafter "Ikore Foundation") is the social impact arm of Ikore International Development Limited — an organisation whose very name, Ikore, means "harvest" in the Yoruba language. The Foundation was established to extend Ikore's mission of sustainable development beyond commercial projects, channelling resources directly into the lives of women, young people, and persons living with disabilities across all 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT.
Nigeria faces deeply entrenched challenges of poverty, food insecurity, and inequality — with over 82 million people living below the national poverty line. Women bear a disproportionate burden, yet are systematically excluded from resources, training, and markets. The Ikore Foundation exists to change that equation, one community at a time.
Drawing on Ikore International's decade of evidence-based development work — including partnerships with the Mastercard Foundation, EU, USAID, GIZ, GAIN, and Mercy Corps — the Foundation translates best-in-class knowledge into grassroots transformation for those who need it most.
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Our Vision
A Nigeria where every woman, young person, and person with a disability has the opportunity, tools, and support to achieve a prosperous and self-determined life through sustainable agriculture.
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Our Mission
To facilitate inclusive agricultural development and economic empowerment for women, youth, and persons with disabilities across Nigeria's 36 states through targeted programmes, capacity building, and strategic partnerships.
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Our Values
Innovation · Inclusion · Integrity · Collaboration · Compassion · Accountability · Sustainability — these are not just words but the principles that govern every programme we design and every partnership we forge.
Our Connection
Part of the Ikore Family
The Foundation is the social conscience of the Ikore group — channelling expertise and resources into direct community impact.
Ikore International Development Ltd
The commercial arm — an international development organisation working with governments, NGOs, and donors on agribusiness, value chains, and market systems development across Nigeria and Africa.
Based at 11 Vanern Street, Wuse, Abuja | ikore.org
Ikore Empowerment Foundation
The not-for-profit arm — focused exclusively on direct beneficiary support, grant-funded programmes, and social impact for women, youth, and persons with disabilities across all 36 Nigerian states.
Evidence-based, community-centred programmes designed to create lasting economic and social change for Nigeria's most vulnerable people.
How We Work
Thematic Areas in Agrifood Systems
We deploy the Graduation Approach in conflict-affected areas to reintegrate smallholders into markets, targeting different segments of farmers with tailored support that allows them to cope, thrive, and step out of poverty.
We recognise that functioning markets can offer benefits for many, particularly the poor. We use a market systems approach that involves analysis to understand barriers to access — inputs, services and markets — for small-scale producers, and building on the incentives of the actors, we facilitate interventions that address these barriers in a sustainable way.
We facilitate evidence-based policy influencing, working with state and non-state actors to drive lasting reforms in the agrifood system.
We design and implement context-specific empowerment programmes that remove barriers to women's participation in economic activities and markets, putting women at the centre of the design and execution.
With our understanding of behavioural science, we design insight-led integrated communication campaigns that drive awareness and adoption of key agricultural inputs and services.
Our Projects
Current Projects
Field implementer on behalf of Ikore International. Full project summary forthcoming.
Funded by Ikore International, and in collaboration with ChananHill, we are tackling urban household malnutrition by driving nutrition advocacy across Primary Health Centres, using insights from food environment studies and a participatory learning approach to get women to lead in identifying and combining affordable foods to achieve a "balanced diet".
Covering maize, orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, spinach, tomatoes and pepper, we are working with input suppliers (seeds and fertiliser) to break bulk in sizes that fit urban households and educate them on how to improve their food diversity through backyard farming.
The People
Meet Our Team
Passionate, skilled, and mission-driven people who give their all to transform lives across Nigeria.
Our People
The Heart Behind the Harvest
The Ikore Foundation team is a diverse, dynamic group of development professionals, agricultural scientists, community mobilisers, data analysts, and communications experts — united by a single purpose: to see Nigeria's most vulnerable people thrive.
Our team draws from the talent pool of Ikore International, bringing years of on-the-ground experience in agribusiness, value chain development, livestock health, nutrition, and community development across Nigeria and Africa.
Leadership
Our Leadership Team
Ovo Ugbebor
Chief Executive Officer
Blessing Allen
Director, Programmes
GA
Dr. Gbenga Ariyo
Assistant Director, Livestock
NI
Nkechi Ibekwe
Grants & Finance Manager
NO
Nkemjika Onuoha
Head, Business Intelligence & Impact
RB
Ruskiyat Badmus
Access to Finance Advisor
EA
Dr. Emmanuel Adegbe
Nutrition Advisor
HA
Dr. Hauwa Abubakar
Programme Officer
Our Work
Photo Gallery
A window into our work — from field distributions to community trainings, livestock programmes to harvests of hope.
Community livestock distribution with traditional leaders, Northern Nigeria
Poultry programme beneficiary, Northern Nigeria
Small ruminant distribution activity
Women farmers receiving goat starter stock
Feed distribution for poultry programme participants
Community advocacy visit with traditional council, Nasarawa State
Youth livestock management training session
Ikore staff conducting field assessment, Southern Nigeria
Improved seed varieties distributed to beneficiary farmers
Women in agricultural skills training, Nasarawa State
Agricultural inputs distribution programme
Young woman beneficiary with day-old chick
Stories
News & Stories
Real stories of real people whose lives have been transformed through the work of Ikore Foundation.
March 2025
How Halima Turned 10 Chickens into a Thriving Enterprise
When Halima received her first ten day-old chicks through the Foundation's Wings of Change programme in Nasarawa State, she had no idea it would transform her family's fortunes within a year.
January 2025
500 Youth Receive Goats in Foundation's Largest Single Distribution
The Ikore Foundation completed its biggest single livestock distribution to date, placing 500 starter goats with young farmers across five Local Government Areas in Kaduna State.
November 2024
AgriLearn Launches in 12 New States, Reaching 2,000 Women
The Foundation's flagship education programme expanded into 12 new states, bringing agricultural skills training, literacy support, and financial education to 2,000 women across Nigeria.
September 2024
Biofortified Seeds: Tackling Malnutrition One Farm at a Time
Working alongside GAIN and local partners, the Foundation distributed Vitamin A-enriched maize and cassava seeds to 1,200 smallholder families in Nasarawa and Kaduna States.
July 2024
Climate-Smart Farming Boosts Yields by 60% in Pilot Communities
A two-year pilot of climate-smart agricultural practices in six communities across the Northeast has delivered remarkable results, with participating farmers reporting up to 60% increases in yield.
May 2024
Foundation Partners with Traditional Rulers to Accelerate Rural Reach
A new community mobilisation strategy engaging traditional councils and royal institutions has dramatically accelerated the Foundation's ability to reach women in remote rural communities.
Get in Touch
Contact Us
Whether you want to donate, partner, volunteer, or simply learn more — we'd love to hear from you.
Let's Build the Harvest Together
The Ikore Foundation team is ready to connect with donors, partners, volunteers, government agencies, and community leaders who share our vision of an inclusive, food-secure Nigeria.
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Address11 Vanern Street, Wuse, Abuja 904101, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria
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Emailinfo@ikorefoundation.org
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Phone+234 708 855 9767
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Websitewww.ikorefoundation.org
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Office HoursMonday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM WAT
