Nigeria & United Kingdom · Since 2005
Building futures for young people and vulnerable communities across two continents
CYID is a Nigerian-founded, UK-registered Community Interest Company with over two decades of impact in youth development, enterprise skills, migration reintegration, cultural awareness, heritage education, and community empowerment proven across Lagos, Abuja, and the United Kingdom.
Years of Operation
MSMEs Trained — Access to Finance
PCMM Member Organisations
Businesses Fully Funded to Launch
Countries of Operation
People Reached, Programmes, Media & Digital
Programme Achievements
What we have delivered in numbers
Every number below represents a real person who completed a CYID programme trained, certified, and supported towards a better future.
Gallery
About CYID
An organisation built where the need is greatest
Founded in 2005, incorporated in Nigeria in 2007 and registered in the United Kingdom as a Community Interest Company in 2020, CYID has spent over two decades working at the intersection of youth development, migration reintegration, enterprise skills, cultural awareness, and mental health delivering programmes that produce measurable, lasting change.
We operate the CYID Youth and Migration Resource Centre in Badagry, Lagos established in 2017 and the Abuja Entrepreneurship Centre, established in 2020. In 2024, we launched the Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration (PCMM), now a 64-member network operating across Nigeria.
Our programmes have been funded by GIZ Germany, the Embassy of Switzerland, the UK Home Office, the British High Commission, OHCHR, and validated through partnership with the University of Cambridge.
GFMD Discussion Starter — Return, Readmission & Reintegration
Global Forum on Migration and Development · Berlin, Germany · 2017
PICUM Member & General Assembly Presenter
Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants · Brussels · Since 2015
University of Cambridge Research Partnership
Dept. of Sociology & Lucy Cavendish College · Migration & Deportation Roundtable · 2024
UK Home Office Commissioned Programme
Skills training at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre · 2019
IOM Expert Rapporteur — Global Compact for Migration
International Organization for Migration · Nigeria National Consultation · 2017
Who We Serve
Reaching those most often left behind
Young People at Risk
NEET young people facing crime risk, unemployment, migration pressure, and lack of direction, given skills, structure, mentorship, and a safe space to rebuild.
Returnee Migrants
Migrants returning to Nigeria from the UK and beyond, supported through enterprise training, trauma-informed support, and reintegration into community and economic life.
Vulnerable Groups
Trafficking survivors, women in the immigration system, ex-offenders, and IDPs receiving recovery support, enterprise skills, and sustained mentorship through our Take Charge programme.
Entrepreneurs & MSMEs
Aspiring business owners and small enterprises trained in business planning, access to finance, branding, and vocational production skills backed by GIZ-certified delivery.
Diaspora & Cultural Communities
African and diaspora communities in the UK celebrated and connected through the Cultural Hangout Festival and structured heritage education programmes across London and Manchester.
Policy Makers & Practitioners
Government officials, law enforcement agencies, and civil society organisations receiving capacity building on mixed migration, reintegration, and human rights.
Featured Programme
Take Charge, Own and Rebuild Your Life Bootcamp
A 5-Day Residential Programme · Badagry, Lagos
For many returnees and victims of trafficking, the journey does not end when they return home or are rescued from exploitation. Return is only the beginning of another difficult journey the journey of healing, rebuilding, reintegration, and finding direction again.
The Take Charge, Own and Rebuild Your Life Bootcamp provides a safe, structured, and reflective residential space where participants can begin to heal from trauma, rediscover themselves, rebuild confidence, and create a practical plan for the next phase of their lives.
“Before a person can rebuild life externally, there must first be healing, clarity, confidence, and personal direction internally.”
— Aihawu Victor, Founder & Executive Director, CYID
5 Days
Residential programme Mon–Fri, arrive Sunday
20
Participants per cohort for deeper engagement
60 Days
Free post-programme counselling and support
Who this programme is for
- Returned Nigerian migrants and deportees
- Victims and survivors of trafficking in persons
- NEET young people needing structured direction
- Persons at risk of re-trafficking or unsafe migration
- Survivors of exploitation, abuse, and gender-based violence
- Single parents affected by failed migration or trafficking
- Anyone needing structured life redirection and rebuilding
5-Day Programme Structure
Day 1
Arrival into Self and Taking Ownership
Day 2
Trauma Healing and My Future and I
Day 3
Visioning and Rebuilding Direction
Day 4
Mindset, Discipline and Overcoming Obstacles
Day 5
Personal Rebuilding Plan and Way Forward
Each participant receives: Take Charge, Own and Rebuild Your Life book · Student manual · Worksheets and reflection tools · Personal rebuilding plan · 60 days of free post-bootcamp counselling and monitoring support
Our Programmes
Proven programmes. Measurable outcomes.
Every CYID programme is rooted in direct community experience, internationally validated, and designed to produce lasting economic and personal change.
Startup Badagry
Flagship entrepreneurship training for young people and aspiring entrepreneurs delivered at the Badagry Centre.
Access to Finance
Three-cohort programme equipping MSMEs and returnee migrants with business skills and CBN loan application capacity.
Signage & Souvenir Production
GIZ-certified vocational training in branding, packaging, and souvenir production with internship placements upon completion.
Take Charge! Own & Rebuild Your Life
Recovery and empowerment programme for returnee migrants and vulnerable groups — also available as an ebook and podcast @rebuildwithvictor.
Jopen Legacy Creative Impact Lab
Three-month programme in bag design, graphic design, advanced fashion, art, and web design at the Badagry Centre.
Cultural Hangout Festival
Festival platform celebrating African and diaspora heritage — delivered in London and Manchester with African Union endorsement.
Evening Brainstorming & Mentorship
Weekly safe evening sessions for NEET young people facing crime risk, unemployment, migration challenges, and lack of direction.
Construction Apprenticeship Scheme
Six to twelve-month apprenticeship in eight construction trades targeting marginalised youth, IDPs, and refugees under the Pathways to Regular Migration project.
U.S.-FCT Tree Planting Project
Implementing organisation for the U.S. Mission in Nigeria’s commemorative tree planting initiative 248 trees planted along Independence Avenue, Abuja, marking the 248th anniversary of the United States. Included induction of 31 secondary school students as FCT Environmental Green Champions.
Our Centres
Two countries. One mission.
CYID operates physical centres in Nigeria and maintains an active presence in the United Kingdom — delivering grassroots programmes alongside national and international policy engagement.
Nigeria
Lagos & Abuja · Since 2005
CYID Youth & Migration Resource Centre, Badagry
111 Marina Street, Badagry, Lagos State. Established 2017. Daily open facility for skills training, mentorship, and community support.
Abuja Entrepreneurship Centre
Plot 217 Shetima Mungono Crescent, Suite E4 & 5, Upper Grace Plaza, Utako FCT. Established 2020.
United Kingdom
Community Interest Company · CIC Registered 2020
UK engagement since 2011
11 prisons visited in joint partnership with the British High Commission Abuja and UK Home Office.
Home Office commissioned programme
Skills training at Yarls Wood Immigration Removal Centre (2019).
Cultural Hangout Festival
South Kensington London (Africa Day 2025), Hyde Park Corner London (International Migrants Day 2025), Crowne Plaza Manchester (Africa Day 2026).
UK Office
Unit 3, Office A, 1st Floor, 6-7 Mary at Hill, London EC3R 8EE.
Policy & Advocacy
We don't just deliver programmes. We shape policy.
CYID operates simultaneously at grassroots and intergovernmental levels — contributing to migration policy at national, European, and global levels while maintaining direct community practice.
PICUM Brussels
Member of Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants. Active in Return & Reintegration and Children & Families thematic groups. Presenter at PICUM General Assembly.
Global Forum on Migration & Development
Three consecutive years at GFMD. Selected as Discussion Starter at GFMD Berlin 2017 — Return, Readmission & Reintegration breakout session.
IOM Expert Rapporteur
Appointed Expert Rapporteur to the IOM for Nigeria’s National Consultation towards the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration.
Cambridge Partnership
Co-convened Migration, Deportation and New Pathways Forward Roundtable with the Dept. of Sociology and Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.
Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration
Founded PCMM in 2024 — now a 64-member network coordinating migration sector organisations across Nigeria in partnership with the European Cultural Centre (Nigeria office).
Federal Policy Memberships — Nigeria
Three simultaneous federal government appointments: NCFRMI National TWG on Migration; Working Group on Return, Readmission & Reintegration; and Federal Ministry of Labour Technical Committee.
GCM Stakeholder Consultation
Speaker at the Stakeholder Consultation for West and Central Africa ahead of the GCM sub-regional reviews for Africa, held in Dakar, Senegal.
Our Team & Board
The people behind the mission
CYID is led by its founder and sustained by the extraordinary commitment of individuals who believe that investing in people is the highest form of impact.
Mr. Aihawu Victor
Nigeria & United Kingdom
Social entrepreneur, migration policy expert, youth development leader, and certified trauma therapist with over 21 years of experience. Founder of CYID, PCMM, Cultural Hangout Festival, Coastal du Monde, Kima, and Take Charge! Own and Rebuild Your Life.
Selected as Discussion Starter at GFMD Berlin 2017, IOM Expert Rapporteur 2017, PICUM member since 2015, University of Cambridge research partner 2024, and holder of three simultaneous federal government policy appointments in Nigeria.
Dr. Bernward Jopen
Krefeld, Germany · Born 30th March 1943
Dr. Bernward Jopen is a German engineer, serial entrepreneur, academic institution builder, and philanthropist whose belief in the potential of people — in prison cells, in classrooms, and in the communities of Badagry — has shaped CYID’s existence in the most fundamental way.
Educated in electrical engineering at universities in Germany and France, and holding a PhD in Economics from Humboldt University Berlin, Dr. Jopen built a distinguished career as co-founder of Telenet GmbH — later acquired by Alcatel — and co-founded the Entrepreneurship Centre at the Technical University of Munich, which he led for eight years.
He is the co-founder of the Leonhard Prison Entrepreneurship Programme, founded with his daughter Maren Jopen. It was through this work — combining entrepreneurship, dignity, and second chances — that Dr. Jopen’s partnership with CYID was born.
Dr. Bernward Jopen is the first and principal investor in the establishment of the CYID Youth and Migration Resource Centre in Badagry, Lagos — singlehandedly funding its physical infrastructure, training rooms, equipment, and operational setup. Without his belief and generosity, the Centre would not exist.
— Mr. Aihawu Victor, Founder & Executive Director, CYID
Chioma Bukola Jehami-Aihawu
Nigeria
Hannah Edebeatu
United Kingdom
Manoah Nunayon Kikekon
Nigeria
Damassoh Japhet Setonji
Nigeria
Partners & Endorsers
Trusted by governments, institutions, and civil society
CYID’s work has been funded, endorsed, and partnered by organisations spanning Nigeria, the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, and international bodies.
In the Media
Our work has been covered nationally and internationally
NTA News
Radio Nigeria
The Nation
The Nation
Vanguard Nigeria
The Sun
Punch
BusinessDay
ThisDay
New Nigerian
Support Our Work
Your donation changes lives
Every contribution — large or small — goes directly towards training young people, supporting returnee migrants, running our Badagry Centre, and delivering programmes that help vulnerable people rebuild their lives.
£10
Provides essential materials for one participant in our Evening Mentorship sessions
£25
Supports one young person through a week of vocational skills training at our Badagry Centre
£50
Funds one returnee migrant through our Take Charge! recovery and enterprise programme
£100
Covers the full cost of training and certifying one young person in souvenir and branding production
Secure payment · UK CIC registered · Donation receipt by email
To discuss corporate donations, major gifts, or legacy giving, please contact info@cyid.org
Governance & Compliance
Accountable. Transparent. Compliant.
CYID is a registered Community Interest Company in the United Kingdom and operates to the highest standards of governance, safeguarding, and organisational accountability. All governance and policy documents are available to commissioners, funders, and statutory partners upon request.
Safeguarding
CYID holds a comprehensive Safeguarding Policy and Child Protection Policy covering all programmes and activities. DBS checks are maintained for all staff and volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults.
Organisational Governance
CYID is governed by its CIC Constitution and Community Interest Statement, filed with Companies House. Annual CIC Reports are submitted in accordance with UK regulatory requirements.
Data Protection & GDPR
CYID maintains a Data Protection and GDPR Policy governing the collection, storage, and use of personal data in compliance with UK data protection law.
Equal Opportunities
CYID is committed to equal opportunities and diversity in all its work. Our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy applies to staff, volunteers, partners, and programme participants.
Financial Accountability
CYID operates under a Financial Controls Policy and files annual accounts in accordance with UK Companies House requirements. Financial records are available to verified funders and commissioners on request.
Additional Policies
CYID also holds Health & Safety, Complaints, Whistleblowing, Conflict of Interest, Volunteer, and Code of Conduct policies — all available upon request to statutory bodies, funders, and commissioners.
Request our governance documents
All policy and compliance documents are available to commissioners, funders, and statutory partners upon request.
Get In Touch
Work with CYID
Whether you are a commissioner, funder, academic partner, community organisation, or someone who needs our support — we would like to hear from you.
🇳🇬 Nigeria
111 Marina Street, Badagry, Lagos State
Plot 217 Shetima Mungono Crescent, Suite E4 & 5, Upper Grace Plaza, Utako FCT
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Unit 3, Office A, 1st Floor, 6-7 Mary at Hill, London EC3R 8EE
12788130
info@cyid.org
www.cyid.org