Successful participants at the forthcoming Young Graduate Entrepreneurship Programme, (Y-GEP) would be provided with loans after its four-month training holding at the Development and Peace Centre, Ogun State.
According to the Executive Director Rev. Vincent Ajayi, the programme would proffer solutions to the unemployment situation of youth.
“Y-GEP is designed to equip fresh and young graduates who have passion or drive toward starting businesses/ventures of their own instead of looking for non-existent white collar jobs.
“Participants will be coached and mentored in entrepreneurial skills by successful entrepreneurs and be supported with financial assistance either in form of take off grants or revolving micro, small and medium loan with lower interest rate than that of commercial banks. This will enable them to either start or scale up their conceived and designed ventures/ enterprises”.
Speaking further on the loan, Ajayi said: “The Y-GEP of Atan JDPC has two windows of financial assistance components, namely: grants and loans. Successful participants can access either one or both depending on need and fulfilment of requirements. While the grant is one time off, the loan is a revolving one and can be scaled up. This indicates that from loan of N1 million in year one, a promising participant can graduate to N2 million or more in the second loan cycle, having fully liquidated the previous loan”.
Young graduates between the ages of 21 and 35 are encouraged to apply for the programme; with priority given to female graduates and those with physical challenges and orphans.
The training will offer the following courses to participants; generating/developing business ideas and plan, corporate governance in business/ventures, legal framework: business registration with relevant government agencies, human resource management and relevant/related issues, taxes, levies and dues, budgeting, record keeping, customers relations, micro insurance, risks of credit facility (risks management), to mention a few.
Ajayi revealed that selection process shall be by submission of an application form and Curriculum Vitae (CV) by intending participants and those shortlisted will be invited for both written and oral examination by a team of examiners to be assembled by the Atan JDPC.