The organised small scale entrepreneurs ecosystem have called for increased support for youth entrepreneurship.

This follows report that that  global tech industry has laid 119,155 employees this year. Big tech companies with a presence in Africa have also seen the number of workers on the continent decimated. Twitter, for example, laid off about 80 percent of its staff in Ghana, home to its Africa headquarters.

Speaking on this, the President, association of micro entrepreneurs of Nigeria (AMEN), Prince Saviour Iche said the spate of tech job cuts was going to occasion inflation.

He expressed concerns that layoff activities this year have so far surpassed the peak in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced millions of companies to shut down and work remotely. To absorb those that were  laid off from their Nigerian offices, Iche urged the government to step up policy support for employment and business startups, create more job opportunities, and foster new growth drivers.

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He underscored the fundamental importance of employment to people’s well-being, adding that the creation of new businesses can increase the number of market entities and boost employment.

In his response, the President, Association of  Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr Femi Egbesola,  called  for  support for startups to boost employment growth.

With the  the spate of layoffs globally, he urged the government to  offer financial support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

 He appealed to the government to finance business incubation bases to  provide venues for startups free of charge to the best of their ability.

Egbesola urged the government to encourage entrepreneurship and boost job creation, as economic growth slows and employment pressures rise.

Few days ago Meta, the parent company of Facebook, laid off 11,000 workers, representing about 13 percent of its total workforce.

Founder and Chief Executive Meta, Mark Zuckerberg said it became inevitable because he miscalculated the future growth of the company and invested heavily in projects like the metaverse, which has yet to yield the desired results.