HOW to solve problems of young entrepreneurs was top on the agenda at a workshop titled: Africa Rising – Market place for young ideas, which held at the Lagos Business School, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan Atlantic University, Ajah, Lagos.
The forum reflected on entrepreneurship as well as the significant shifts that need to happen to address youth employment creation that have failed and the need for governments, big business and policy makers to act with the necessary speed to stop the youth unemployment epidemic.
Director, Start-up Hub, Lagos, Mr Chibuike Aguene stressed the need to address the growing youth unemployment crisis and enable young people to create businesses which can generate jobs and economic growth.
He said the nation was confronted by unemployment and more young people were being thrown into the labour market.
To tackle this challenge, he said the training was held to encourage, educate and empower young entrepreneurs. With the focus on entrepreneurship and its potential for economic development and job creation, he said the recognition of entrepreneurs as having an important role in the economy has emerged.
He said the forum was a deal with Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan African University, to feature in the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
The dialogue, he said, engaged the business leaders, students, Corps members, young and aspiring entrepreneurs, and seasoned educators to chart the course for enterprise development in the youth sector to groom the next generation of new business leaders
Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre of the Business School,Nnneka Okekearu supported the call to empower more young entrepreneurs.
She noted that there were many opportunities tosupport entrepreneurs to explore them and help the government to create jobs.According to her, the traditional job for life career path has become rarer and youth entrepreneurship will need to beseen as an additional way of allowing the youth into the labour market and promoting job creation.
She said the perceptions of good business opportunities amongst the youth are particularly low ,
badly impacted by the economic situation.She said youth in Nigerian perceive lack of capital, lack of skill, lack of support and
lack of market opportunities as the main obstacles to entrepreneurial intention.
EDC,she noted, supports addressing the problems of youth entrepreneurship specifically,
with the goal of increasing understanding of what constrains, motivates and assists young entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurial process and how best catalyse the role that youthentrepreneurship can play in economic and social development.
Group Head of SME in Heritage Bank Company Bayo Ogunnusi, Limited said many young entrepreneurs face challenges that prevent them from succeeding in their endeavors.
This including limited access to financing and capital, underdeveloped or insufficient
skills and lack of mentoring support. Though access to capital financing and capital is, without question, a critical enabler for young entrepreneurs, he noted that young
entrepreneurs lack adequate training in preparing business plans to help them qualify for bank assistance.
He encourage d young entrepreneurs without a strong credit to tap into personal savings, in addition toobtaining money from family and friends, to finance
their early operations.
Head of SME Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Akintunde Oyebode, said new entrepreneurs would be able to
achieve a modest start with their own savings
and help from loved ones.
Head of SME,Bank of Industry, Ganiyu Jimoh, said sourcing finace has proved challenging in many cases.In order to be eligible for funding from NGOs or loans from banks, he urged young entrepreneurs to prove theyhad a viable business model and demonstrate that they had other sources of funding and capital. According to him, outside funding was crucial when it came to growing and sustaining their businesses .
Other speakers that contributed to making the event a success include Mrs Yemisi Joel –Osebor,Manager,GEM,Lagos amongst others.
The programme was held by the Enterprise Development Centre,the Pan-Atlantic University,was organisedin partnership with Startup Hub, Stanbic IBTC Bank, and Etisalat Nigeria as part of the events to mark the Global Entrepreneurship Week.
