Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), in partnership with Heritage Bank, has inaugurated a N500-million grant scheme to support young Nigerian students and entrepreneurs.
NYPF’s chairman, Moses Siasia, in a statement on Monday in Abuja, said the programme was inaugurated on April 6 in Lagos, with the name – Young Entrepreneurs and Students Grant (YESGrant).
Siasia said that renowned Nigerian actress, Stephanie Okereke-Linus, was named the brand ambassador of the scheme, explaining that the choice of the Okereke-Linus was informed by her contributions to youth empowerment and for being a role model to many young Nigerians.
“The main objective of this programme is to encourage young Nigerians and it will focus of three key sectors-Agriculture, Creative industry and Information Communication Technology.
“This programme is born out of the enormous challenges young aspiring entrepreneurs and students go through in their quest toward s achieving set goals in their small scale businesses and academic pursuits.
“NYPF has been in the lead of building the next generation of business frontiers and the huge impact we have created with our educational intervention programmes for children in rural communities across the nation.
“YESGrant targets to generate jobs encourage and support aspiring entrepreneurs in Nigerian to develop and execute business ideas that will create jobs and lead to self-reliance,’’ Siasia said.
Siasia said that YESGrant would provide aspiring entrepreneurs with a platform to showcase their business expertise and skills to business leaders, investors and mentors.
According to him, it will be a motivation for Nigerian students to achieve their academic pursuits.
He said that the grant would be open to both male and female between the ages 18 and 40 years.
He said the Heritage Bank team to the event was led by Adebayo Ogunnusi, group head, product concept, while NYPF was represented by Siasia and Vivian Achuonye, director of Entrepreneurship.
SMEDAN re-strategises on nation’s economic growth with 103 centres for MSMEs’ training
RAZAQ AYINLA
Poised to hit the ground running and immediately stimulate economic growth within Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, Dikko Umaru Radda, newly-appointed director-general, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has approved the establishment of post training business development services in 103 centres.
The establishment of Post Training Business Development Services located in 103 centres in 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, according to a press statement issued by Ibrahim Mohammed, the agency’s spokesman, indicated that the programme was targeted at 5,000 existing operators of Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs).
Speaking on rationale behind the novel economic strategy launched by the new management, Radda said: “The flag-off Post Training Business Development Service for Zonal Intervention Programme is part of the agency’s effort to further boost the contributions of Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises to Gross Domestic Product and the economy at large.”
The director-general reiterated the agency’s commitment through this programme to support 5,000 businesses nationwide, adding: ‘’we believe at the end of the day we would be able to generate about 50,000 indirect jobs through our new programme that will hold in 103 locations across the country.”
Commenting further on the objectives of the programme, Radda noted that the programme was aimed to achieve among other economic values, critical, on-the-spot assessment and application of problem-solving techniques that would enable beneficiaries run businesses better with a view to improving meaningful contributions of MSMEs to the nation’s economy.
The director-general added that the programme would afford SMEDAN the opportunity to understand the peculiar challenges being faced by each of the enterprise the agency had interfaced with, as well as to provide business development services and other ancillary services that would enhance management of enterprises and strengthen linkage between the agency and the targeted participants.
He noted that overall benefit of the programme is that the businesses covered are expected to make impact by creating wealth and job opportunities, adding: “and we expect that the businesses will also trigger a value chain of support enterprises which will also indirectly add to the employment generation drive of the programme. They will also be on our priority list for funding and access to business finance’’.
Meanwhile, he had directed that SMEDAN state offices to put all machinery in motion to ensure that every part of the country was reached, saying a proper analysis of data collected from different locations be done in order to update information on MSMEs operators, clients and trainees.
