Elevate Development FoundationDonate

Youth-led change · Nigeria · Since 2016

Potential is everywhere. Opportunity should be too.

Elevate works alongside young people in underserved communities to build the mindset, skills and access they need to shape their own futures.

Explore our work See the evidence
Young footballers standing together during Level Up Makoko
2016—202610 years
of showing up.
Meet Elevate · 4:59
7,216lives reached in Elevate's documented early programme records
10years of community-rooted work
A coach leading young footballers during Level Up MakokoMakoko → Lagos → Abuja
179teenagers in two 2024 EmpowerED editions
Explore the evidence

Explore Elevate

Go beyond the overview.

01ProjectsSix programme stories02ImpactInteractive reports03LeadershipTeam and governance04Theory of changeHow the model works05ChaptersLagos, Abuja and next06GalleryThe work up close
01

The opportunity gap

Where a young person starts should not determine how far they can go.

Our work began in Makoko, Lagos. Today, Elevate is a youth-led Nigerian nonprofit building community-rooted pathways across Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory.

Our mission is to lift one million young Africans out of multidimensional poverty through mindset shifts, education, employment and innovation.

Who we are

Four connected levers

Change is not one intervention.

01

Mindset

Build the self-knowledge and confidence to imagine a different future.

02

Education

Turn learning into practical choices, skills and community action.

03

Employment

Connect capability to mentors, livelihoods and economic opportunity.

04

Innovation

Back young people to solve real problems in ways that can grow.

Elevate participants and volunteers gathered after a community programme

Our strategic platform

Project A.C.E.

Access. Community development. Education.

A framework launched in 2019 for bringing knowledge, opportunity and locally shaped solutions closer to the young people who need them.

A AccessC CommunityE Education
Explore the programmes

Documented programme records

Participation matters. Change matters more.

7,100

people received food and relief items across three years of Christmas in Makoko

43

young people in a ten-month mentorship journey

59

young people reached through the 2022 Mental Liberation programme

95%

of sampled mentees reported confidence and new skills

Explore impact and reports
Collage from Elevate's early community programmesYoung people gathered for an Elevate programme in Makoko

A decade in motion

Started in Makoko. Built to travel.

Every chapter starts by listening. Every programme is designed around the people, place and opportunity in front of us.

Watch and read the stories

Give your time

Volunteer

Find the team where your strengths can travel furthest.

Match your role

Fund opportunity

Donate

Back youth-led pathways with accountable, evidence-led giving.

Explore ways to give

The next chapter

One million young Africans. One opportunity at a time.

Join a growing community of volunteers, partners and supporters building the conditions for young people to thrive.

Build with Elevate