Nigeria, Italy Set Up Working Group for $5B Global Education Financing Campaign

Nigeria and Italy have agreed to establish a joint Working Group to drive a global education financing campaign aimed at mobilizing $5 billion to transform learning for 750 million children.

The initiative, tagged the 'Multiply Possibility Campaign,' will culminate at the Global Education Summit in Rome in September 2026. Organizers say it is also expected to unlock an additional $10 billion in domestic education financing by 2030.

Disclosing the initiative, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, said that the agreement was reached on Wednesday, during a meeting between Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, and the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Roberto Mengoni.

Odumegwu-Ojukwu said that advancing education is a key priority under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. She noted that the summit was urgent given Nigeria’s large youth population, adding that the partnership would help equip young people with skills, create employment opportunities, and help manage migration.

“We are interested in what we can do to keep our youth within our shores in productive ways,” she said, highlighting Nigeria’s focus on green investments in vulnerable communities.

The minister also called for constructive dialogue on migration and said both countries would continue to deepen bilateral ties.

Ambassador Mengoni said the meeting was necessary for both countries, as co-chairs of the Global Partnership for Education, to agree on a date and venue for the summit. 

Discussions also covered cooperation in tourism, economic development, and defence.