The Nation Newspaper

Tag: young

  • The making of young entrepreneurs

    The making of young entrepreneurs

    Over 1,000 contestants participated in the ’’Meet The Executive’’ project of Sterling Bank Plc. The three with ‘’outstanding’’ plans emerged winners. The first prize winner, Gbemisola Eso got a N2 million cheque to start her business. The two runners up received N1.5 million and N1 million cheques, reports AMIDU ARIJE.

    The presentation of business plans by the top 18 contestants in the ‘’Meet the Executive’’ project, an initiative of Sterling Bank Plc to the executive management, marked the turning point for the top three participants.

    For the trio, the journey was long and challenging, but rewarding. The first among them, Gbemisola Esho won a N2 million grant to pursue her business; the second, Rufai Oluyemi; N1.5 million and Daniel Momma N1 million for coming third.

    They collected their prizes at the “Get Ready for Work”concert in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The presentation of cheques to the winners by the Group Head, Strategy & Communication, Mr. Shina Atilola on behalf of the Managing Director, Mr. Yemi Adeola, signified the end of phase one of the project and gave hope to other aspiring entrepreneurs.

    The second phase includes the allocation of mentors, investor engagement and visible business development. The bank shall ensure that disbursed funds are utilised effectively and for the stated purpose.

    Specifically, Sterling Bank came up with the initiative based on the fact that national economic development prospects in any country are hinged on the entrepreneurial energy of vibrant small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) as most big business concerns started small.

    Many economies, developed and developing, have come to realise the value of small businesses. They are seen to be characterised by dynamism, witty innovations and efficiency; as their small size allows for faster decision making. Small businesses are believed to be the engine for the development of any economy because they form the bulk of business activities in a growing economy like Nigeria.

    The dearth of vibrant SMEs in the country has become a source of worry to concerned individuals and institutions. The fear is that the most expected economic recovery may not be realised unless action is taken to address the issues urgently.

    Although it was the maiden edition of the project, it has in many ways encouraged entrepreneurship, employment and economic independence among the populace. The project is also in line with the bank’s concept of empowering young entrepreneurs.

    Over 1000 entries were received by the bank from those with different business plans across the country. To ensure that only the best business plans were selected, a team of consultants was hired to scrutinise proposals. The 50 best entries were selected based on originality of the plans, their viabilityand provision of detailed information such as the required capital, cash flow and revenue projections.

    The sponsors of the plans selected were invited for a training at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) to further enrich their knowledge in the management of small businesses and writing of business plans. Upon completion of the training, participants were allowed to fine-tune their plans and present them to the bank. Of these, the best 18 plans were selected for presentation by their owners to the bank’s executive management.

    Atilola said: “The decision to invest in new business initiatives and nurture them to become viable SMEs was borne out of the need to facilitate real growth in the economy as small businesses remain the catalyst for real economic development anywhere in the world.”

  • Foreign cultures, problems for young Nigerians

    Foreign cultures, problems for young Nigerians

    The Dean, Faculty of Education, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Mopelola Omoegun has attributed problems facing the younger generations of Nigerians to the adoption of foreign language and culture, noting that this has had negative impact on our cultural values.

    She made this declaration while addressing parents, guardians, and guests at the 2013 Cultural Day celebration of AOS Montessori Nursery and Primary School, Agege, Lagos, at the AbanikandaMulti-Purpose Hall.

    Urging parents to endeavour at all times to communicate in their mother tongues with their wards at home, she lamented that a mixture and outright abandon of the rich Nigerian cultural heritage in favour of foreign culture had done unimaginable damage to the moral upbringing and respect for elders.

    She appealed to parents whose wards respond to conversation in native dialects in English language to effect corrections now, noting that a child that is well grounded in mother tongue is more intelligent than their counterparts that are westernised.

    Administrator of the school, Mrs Omolola Osuolale-Olaiya said the annual celebration assumed a new dimension this year to call the attention of government, parents and guardians to the threatening extinction of the local languages among the younger generations of Nigerians.

    She added that Nigeria as a country is blessed with good cultural values and traditions that could be of benefit to the younger generation if only parents would heed to the calls and avoid a looming loss of identity of young citizens because of the influx of foreign cultures.

    “At AOS, every Friday of the week is dedicated as cultural day. In addition to learning, every child is dressed in native attire in order to get familiar with the traditions of other tribes in the country..

    “Also, part of our modest contributions to inculcate cultural values in the children is to encourage parents to open up discussions with their wards at home in the mother tongue and take them on visits during holidays to their ancestral homes as against taking children on expensive trips to America. We should not over Westernise these children,” she said.

    Apparently disturbed that some parents find it difficult to instil communication in local dialects in their children at home and among their peer groups, the Administrator said the school at a time wrote official letters to parents in the local languages depending on their states of origin.

    Highlight of the celebration was the serving of local delicacies like roasted yam, plantain, garden eggs, groundnut and bean cakes, and zobo drinks in gourds and calabashes while local food condiments and delicacies were also on display to the admiration of guests.

    The excited pupils who were dressed in colouful local attires representing the Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, the Niger Delta and other ethnic tribes, entertained guests with different dance steps and news casting in their local languages of various states.

     

  • Building young leaders

    Building young leaders

    To ensure the youth take their destines in their hands, the society, the Commonwealth Youth Leadership Development Programme, an initiative of the Commonwealth countries, has selected some of them from across the world to participate in its inaugural online conference tagged:Discovering young leaders programme (DYLP) 2012.

    Two CAMPUSLIFE correspondents Faith Olaniran and David Osu, from the Federal University of Technology, Minna (FUT MINNA) are among the thousands of students from over 50 countries participating in the conference. Faith recently finished from the Biochemistry Department; David is in 300-Level Urban and Regional Planning. The conference, which started on September 15 will last for five weeks.

    According to a statement by the organisers, participants can only qualify for completion certificates, after they may have composed and posted, at least, 20 comments throughout the course. Also, they are expected to complete five online reflections and submit one course assignment.

    Welcoming the online participants, Course Coordinator Wale Salami said: “There is growing disconnect between people and their leaders and the gulf is believed to be growing wider by the day.”

    He said the conference sought to address the numerous challenges facing the youth in all cities of the world.

    He added: ‘‘In recognition of this need, the Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for Africa designed the DYLP as a discussion and capacity building platform to seek answers to a series of questions on leadership in youth organisations, the community and the world at large.”

    In an online interview with CAMPUSLIFE, participants listed what they desired to learn from the five-week online conference.

    One of them, Abiodun Awosusi, a Lagos Corps member and founder of Penpreneur Nigeria, said: “It is an opportunity for me to discuss with young leaders about youth initiatives and meaningful actions to promote development in Africa. I expect to heighten self-discovery as a step towards making lasting impact in the society.”

    Grace Yoko, a Cameroonian Master’s student at the University of Buea, said: “I hope to increase my knowledge on youth leadership and gain more leadership skills. Also, through the sharing of experiences, I expect to learn best practices from other peers and hope others will learn from me.”

    A British student and writer, Annie Emery, said she hoped to learn useful skills that she could use promote her global awareness group. “One of the aspects I am most looking forward to is meeting and cooperating with other people from around the world to improve youth empowerment,” she said.

    For David, who was selected for the United Nations youth advocacy, he expected to engage other youths to develop intellectual instinct. “I also expect that the training would expose me to new strategies and process in redefining youth development in Nigeria and Africa.”

    Faith said he wanted to “be inspired, empowered and exposed to new trends in global leadership.”

    Kittian student and youth parliamentarian Dennis Mc Call Jnr. said he expected to learn new trends in youth empowerment from DLYP. He added that he looked forward to gaining a better understanding of being a youth leader and how he could change lives of young people in his country.