Paying to Serve: Why Volunteer Work at the NESG is great for your Personal and Professional Development
One of the most transformative decisions you could make as a young professional in Nigeria is to join NESG (Nigerian Economic Summit Group) as a volunteer staff. 800+ professionals like you are currently serving the country in various capacities through the organization.
NESG is a well-respected non-profit, non-partisan private-sector led Think Tank that promotes and champions the reform of the Nigerian economy to be an open, modern, inclusive and globally competitive economy.
Through various initiatives, NESG interfaces with government at different levels to direct attention to issues of critical national importance. With its extraordinary database of experts and professionals, it regularly helps government with strategies and insights for reengineering the Nigerian economy.
Among the novel ideas that NESG has given and supported the Federal Government to execute was Pension Reform, which now has a total pension assets in excess of 10 trillion Naira (about US$27 billion) according to Bloomberg, creating an entirely new industry and improving retirement lives in Nigeria.
It is for this critical role NESG plays in Nigeria that heads of agencies, Ministers, Development Partners, Governors and successive Presidents listen and take counsel from it. Its annual Summit (NES — National Economic Summit) is usually well-attended by policy-makers, diplomatic and business communities, governors and the president.
I was formally accepted into the NESG’s family in August 2019 to join its Trade, Investment and Competitiveness Policy Commission. That acceptance has been a major turning point in my life as it gave me a visa to a life and professional profile far beyond what I could have contemplated.
Among other things, it enabled me to: unlock amazing resources for personal development, extend and leverage high quality professional network, connect with highly placed people in both the public and private sectors, get mentored by accomplished professionals, work with talented and influential young people across the country and bolster my resume preparatory for future opportunities.
My engagement with NESG reached an interesting crescendo in March 2020 when I was selected among other 23 young Nigerians from across the country to be in the first cohort of the NESG Bridge Fellowship Program, an advanced leadership development and policy advocacy training that NESG runs in conjunction with LEAP Africa.
We are half-way into the 18-months Fellowship Program and so far, all I can say, is, ‘God bless the day I made the decision to join NESG’.
In addition to the amazing line up of resources for personal development that NESG gives me, including an accomplished personal mentor in Professor Jonathan Aremu — former Vice Chancellor of Covenant University and a globally respected expert in Trade and Investment, it also affords me the opportunity to sit at the table where Nigeria’s future is being shaped.
Through NESG, I was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in June 2020 as Technical Assistant to one of the Technical Working Groups designing the three new National Development Plans launched by President Muhammadu Buhari last year. That is Business Environment, Trade, Competitiveness and Product Space Mapping Technical Working Group.
In that role, I have been able to apply my exposure and knowledge to put forward policies, programs and strategies that could potentially turn the corner in Nigeria’s Investment Landscape and Global Competitiveness.
As the TA, my TWG relied on me for insights on not just innovative Trade and Investment Policies but also on implementation framework that would deliver results and change things for the better.
In a country where young people have historically been, or felt, prevented from making their voices heard in matters of national development, and for me to be one of the few outliers, I am more than grateful and I feel a huge sense of responsibility to be an ambassador — a responsibility I will continue to accord high level of importance.
The work we have been doing at the TWG has obviously not gone unnoticed. I have been invited to speak at high profile events, most recent of which was 2020 Trade and Investment Summit in Atlanta by The US-Africa Trade Council. I also got selected recently by the NESG to assist the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to design ‘The 21st Century Nigerian Trade Policy’.
Without doubt, NESG is one of the most direct, hassle-free route to serve the country and achieve tremendous personal growth doing so. But that’s not all you get. When you join NESG, you get access key to critical resources for professional growth.
Apart from the opportunity you would have to work side-by-side with senior professional colleagues who all seem to share two interesting codes towards their younger fellows: expose them to career-advancing opportunities and invest in their future growth — you will be working with some of the brightest and smartest young minds that Nigeria has to offer.
Young members of my Policy Commission and my 23 colleague Bridge Fellows are trail-blazing Medical Doctors, top Consultants, Development Advocates, Food Security Experts, Policy Analysts, amazing Civil Servants, award-winning Academics and successful Businesspeople. NESG is a hotbed for talents, an exclusive club of the best of Nigerians. That is one heck of a club you should be in.
A combination of intelligent peers and inspiring work environment at the NESG will energize and stretch you to be the very best that you could be. With its credibility across board, work ethics and quality of service, having NESG in the experience section of your resume gives you an unparalleled edge over anyone in any job application. This is exactly my experience. Stay with me, I will tell you more of what you will get when you voluntee for NESG.
NESG gives you access to a network of Very Very Important Personalities (VVIPs): CEOs, accomplished entrepreneurs, policy-makers/politicians, top domain experts, civil society leaders, top-rated consultants and so on.
Mr Abubakar Suleiman (CEO/MD, Sterling Bank) and I work closely as members of the Competitiveness Team of our TWG. My work at the NESG has also led me to meet, in person, Mr Atedo Peterside (Industrialist), Mrs Zainab Ahmad Usman (Minister of Finance), Governors Kayode Fayemi and Nasir El-Rufai, and uncountable number of other VVIPs. The relationships you get to build and the benefit therefrom with these caliber of people is something that only very few organizations in Nigeria can unlock for you.
Now, who can volunteer for NESG? Anyone with a profession and a passion to serve, whether currently working in the private or public sector, is welcome to join. With its 13 Policy Commissions (covering 450 Thematic Groups) all searching for innovative solutions to many of the issues that challenge Nigeria, there is always a project that suits and can benefit from your unique experience.
There are projects in Agriculture & Food Security; Energy; Manufacturing & Mining; Financial Markets/Services; Digital Economy; Gender Issues & Inclusion; Human Capital Development (Education and Health); Governance & Institutions; Infrastructure; Sustainability; Hospitality, Tourism, Entertainment, Creative Industry & Sports; and of course, there are projects in my Policy Commission — Trade, Investment & Competitiveness.
Every year, through NESG, several dozen young professional like you get a seat at the table. They use that seat to make impact and make Nigeria — by extension, the world — better. They also make themselves better in the process. You could be getting one of those few seats soon. Getting selected to volunteer for NESG is pretty competitive. You need to demonstrate capacity, passion to serve without pay (you won’t be paid), and a strong commitment to make ‘Naija beta’.
So, if you are capable and passionate about serving Nigeria and developing yourself — bolstering your professional profile — in the process, this is your opportunity to do so.
Click the link below to start the process.
Should you have any questions, just shoot me an email here: adams.adeiza@nesgroup.org
Looking forward to having you onboard soon.
