Jobberman and Mastercard Foundation Start Phase 2 Placement

In Short

• Jobberman, Mastercard Foundation, and LEAP AFRICA have started phase two of a 12-month placement programme in Lagos.
• The new cohort includes over 500 associates.
• The programme focuses on work experience, mentorship, and support towards long term employment.

What Happened

Jobberman and the Mastercard Foundation welcomed over 500 young professionals into phase two of the Mastercard Foundation Associates Program.

The associates were onboarded at an event held in Lagos on August 13, 2026. The event was organised with LEAP AFRICA, which supports youth development and employability programmes.

Organisers said the 12-month placement is designed to give associates real workplace experience. This includes mentoring, career guidance, and clearer expectations for how to operate in a professional environment.

At the onboarding, Jobberman Nigeria’s Country Head of Programmes, Olamide Adeyeye, encouraged participants to treat the placement as a learning cycle. He noted that work exposure can help people discover career paths that differ from what they studied in school.

Jobberman’s programme coordinator, Toluwani Aina, said the onboarding was also meant to help associates build relationships across the cohort. This matters because peer support often improves completion rates and job outcomes in structured internship and graduate placement programmes.

Why It Matters

Nigeria’s youth labour market is crowded, and many entry level candidates struggle with the “experience gap,” which is when employers want prior work experience for junior roles.

A structured placement programme helps reduce that gap by combining on the job learning with mentorship. Mentorship is practical guidance from more experienced professionals, similar to having a coach who helps you navigate workplace decisions.

For employers, these programmes can also create a more reliable pipeline of junior talent. For the ecosystem, they support skills development and hiring readiness, which affects productivity across startups and larger companies.