Sustainable Livelihoods

A Nigeria where no one is hungry

By improving families’ access to nutritious food and increasing their incomes, we can ensure healthy lives, thriving communities

Growing Opportunities: Nurturing Lives

Sustainable livelihoods are the foundation of a prosperous and equitable society. By providing individuals and communities with the means to support themselves, we can break the cycle of poverty and inequality. Our mission is to empower people to take control of their lives, make choices, and shape their own futures. This will ensure that they also contribute to local economic growth, improve food security, and enhance resilience to climate change, and conflicts. By investing in sustainable livelihoods, we can unlock human potential, foster creativity, and drive innovation.

We recognise that sustainable livelihoods also help address social and gender inequalities, we will be empowering marginalized groups including women, youth, and indigenous communities. By promoting sustainable livelihoods, we can create a more just and equitable world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Global

2 billion

people lack access to safe, nutritious, and sufficient food

736 million

people live in extreme poverty

70 %

of world’s population lacks access to social protection, exacerbating vulnerability

Why it Matters

82.9 million

people live the poverty line

14.3 million

youth are unemployed

65 %

of Nigerians work in the informal sector

What is Olutoju doing to promote sustainable livelihoods?

Economic Empowerment

Olutoju provides access to small loans, savings and insurance via some of our social protection projects to support MSMEs and entrepreneurs. We offer varieties of trainings and mentorship programs to enhance business and technical skills that will to help generate and manage income in the medium to long term via our graduation model.

We empower individuals and communities with economic opportunities to promote sustainable livelihoods, ensuring long-term food security and resilience. Our initiatives focus on:

  • Financial inclusion and access to credit
  • Entrepreneurship training and business development
  • Vocational skills training and job creation
  • Market access and fair trade practices
  • Sustainable agriculture and value chain development

By strengthening local economies and promoting equitable market systems, we enable individuals and communities to:

  • Increase income and assets
  • Enhance food purchasing power
  • Improve livelihood resilience
  • Reduce poverty and inequality
  • Contribute to sustainable economic growth

Our economic empowerment programs prioritize women, youth, and marginalized groups, fostering inclusive and sustainable development.

Values-based Partnerships

We deploy our own capital and technology, alongside farmers and private sector partners who share our values. We know the best way to build resilience is for individual communities to envision what their future looks like and see that it’s possible. Our mission is to help them build it.

We foster value-based partnerships with diverse stakeholders to drive collective impact, leveraging shared values and expertise to address complex food security challenges. Our partnerships prioritize mutual trust, respect, and open communication, focusing on collaborative problem-solving, co-creation, and knowledge sharing. By aligning interests and resources, we mobilize innovative solutions, amplify impact, and ensure long-term sustainability, ultimately strengthening the food ecosystem and promoting equitable access to healthy food for all.

Social Inclusion

It is our mission to ensure gender equity, thus we promote equal access to resources, opportunities, and decision-making for women and girls. We tailor our programs to achieve youth empowerment by supporting their education and skills training. We promote and support community-led initiatives that promote social cohesion and collective action as well as protect people’s fundamental human rights.

We promote social inclusion by addressing systemic barriers and ensuring equal opportunities for marginalized and underserved groups to access healthy food, nutrition education, and economic empowerment.

Our initiatives focus on:

  • Cultural sensitivity and relevance
  • Accessibility and affordability
  • Community-led decision-making
  • Addressing intersectional disparities (e.g., gender, race, disability)
  • Fostering inclusive policies and practices

By prioritizing social inclusion, we aim to:

  • Reduce health disparities
  • Enhance community cohesion
  • Empower marginalized voices
  • Promote equitable food access
  • Foster a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Food Waste Reduction

We implement food recovery programs to rescue surplus food from farms, manufacturers, and retailers. We establish networks to redistribute recovered food to those in need, reducing food waste and hunger. We promote food waste education, by teaching consumers, businesses, and institutions about food waste reduction strategies. Work with food manufacturers, distributors, and retailers to optimize supply chains and reduce waste.

We work to reduce food waste throughout the supply chain, from production to consumption, to minimize environmental impact, conserve resources, and ensure that nutritious food reaches those who need it.

Our initiatives focus on:

  • Food recovery and redistribution
  • Supply chain optimization
  • Food storage and handling improvements
  • Consumer education and awareness
  • Policy support for food waste reduction

Policy & Advocacy

Develop evidence-based solution to achieve sustainable livelihoods and advocate for policies that supports it. We foster partnerships among government, private sector, and civil society to promote sustainable livelihoods.

We advocate for policies that ensures equitable access to resources, markets, and social services. Our efforts focus on supporting small-scale farmers, promoting fair trade, sustainable agriculture, and climate-resilient practices, while strengthening social protection programs and safety nets.

By influencing policy and practice through research-driven advocacy, coalition building, community engagement, and stakeholder dialogue, we aim to enhance income security, improve access to quality education and healthcare, foster inclusive economic growth, protect human rights, and promote environmentally conscious livelihoods, ultimately empowering individuals and communities to thrive.

Learn more about our projects

LIFT Nigeria

LIFT Nigeria

Springboard

Springboard

Impact Investment

Impact Investment