The Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, has said young Nigerian entrepreneurs hold the ace to rescue the economy.
Olagunju, speaking at the inauguration of Live Well Bia Foods Outlet in Surulere, Lagos, said improved investment would expedite the recovery of the national economy from decline.
He said: “Supporting young entrepreneurs through funding is necessary to improve the quality of life of youths with desire to be self-reliant.”
Olagunju said BoI would support youths with innovative projects, adding:”Visionary and talented youths with viable business plan will be supported by the bank to drive the industrialisation of the country.
“This is a BoI-supported project through Prinsult Consulting, one of the 200 Business Development Service Providers (BDSP) of the bank.”
He said the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) and the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme were some of the initiatives of the bank targeted at financing young entrepreneurs.
The managing director urged parents to support their children in their quest for success in their entrepreneurial ventures.
The Managing Director of Bia Live Well Outlet, Mr. Fadesola Adedayo, said passion, mentoring and finance were critical to budding entrepreneurs.
He hailed BoI for encouraging entrepreneurs through funding, saying: “Nigeria has a lot of agricultural products that can be explored to add value to people’s life and the economy. I implore entrepreneurs to tap into these resources so that we can build our economy.”