The Nation Newspaper

Tag: youth entrepreneurship

  • Boosting youth entrepreneurship

    Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment and Young Entrepreneurs Foundation of Africa (YEFA) have held a forum for budding entrepreneurs, DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    For many, Nigeria’s best assets are its youths. The best resource for doing business  is the readily available pool of youths   and aspiring entrepreneurs who are hungry for work.

    To enhance this, the Lagos State Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment has been networking with key partners to boost the government’s commitment to support entrepreneurship.

    One of them is the Young Entrepreneurs Foundation for today’s Africa (YEFA). It considers youth as job creators rather than only job seekers. Consequently, it focuses on equipping young Nigerians with necessary skills to participate in private sector activities.

    One of its solutions to combat the challenge of unemployment is entrepreneurship. It  was the spear point of its logistics business workshop held in Lagos.

    Declaring the forum open, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs Abidemi Ganiat,  said the government was ready to  support  partnership  that will lead to creation of  new businesses and projects that enable individuals to innovate and produce,  and contribute to the well-being of the economy.

    Mrs Ganiat, who was represented by the Director of Administration and Human Resources in the Ministry, Whenayon Hundeyin, said the government has developed some initiatives  capable of unleashing the potential of the youths to reposition the economy.

    These include but are not limited to free training for tradesmen and artisans on modern techniques and management and internship programmes for graduates, among others.

    According to her, innovation and creativity are the keys to expanding the nation’s economy and creating job opportunities. She stressed the government’s readiness to creating an environment where small businesses and entrepreneurs can prosper.

    YEFA founder, Olayemi Richard, said  entrepreneurship  is  central  to  innovation, wealth  creation  and  job  growth.

    He said the organisation is determined to nurture youths toward becoming entrepreneurs who can earn decent living. Richard said his organisation want to make it easier for Nigerians to start and grow their businesses.

    He said logistics and supply chain can be a game changer in terms of creating new revenue for young entrepreneurs.

    He said there were opportunities for young entrepreneurs in logistics and supply chain business in Nigeria, saying the scope in the transport and logistics industry is wide, adding that entrepreneurs will be exposed to areas that are simple to enter.

    The training, according to him, will assist individuals with little or no logistics experience  to run their  business.

    He said entrepreneurs will also have access to important resources they’ll need to operate a delivery business.

    He said he wanted entrepreneurs to set up small delivery companies, adding that the organisation is ready to give them technology and training.

    Richard added: “Franchisees will be set up for prospective trainees/members in logistics business even as the forum provides opportunity to become commission agencies to world class logistics firms.”

    He explained that new technologies have also given entrepreneurs   a vast new array of tools to offer services to the industry.

    Head, SMEs, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Charles Anyanwu  said small and medium businesses are the backbone of the economy and to help fast-track their growth, more often than not, a boost more funding; was needed, gaining access to funding is no simple task and for SMEs, it can be challenging.

    Anyanwu said LSETF was set up to power SMEs and improve the skills of entrepreneurs, to help Lagos residents create a thriving SME economy. He said businesses are supported by the fund  and must demonstrate capacity to repay loans.

    Prospective beneficiaries must   be registered by the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) and have valid Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).

    On its Micro-Enterprise Fund, Anyanwu said beneficiaries could access a maximum loan of N500, 000 at an interest rate of five percent per year, to be spread over 12 months.

    For the SME Fund, he said the maximum loan is N5million for an SME, and must be for asset acquisition and/or working capital for the business at an interest rate of five percent per year payable over 36 months.

    He said the Fund has enabled job creation for over 25,000 people, improved the productivity of small businesses , and ensured that the state remains on a path of growth.

    Under the LSETF Employability Support Programme, 3,544 youths were trained, of which 1,200 were placed in jobs or got self-employed.

    The ministry’s Head of Entrepreneurship Department, Mrs Taiwo Abiose, said the government has been promoting entrepreneurship.

    She  said the government wants to  a  healthy  ecosystem  that  encourages  individuals  to  act  on  entrepreneurial  intentions  and  then  support  that   action.

    “We want to ensure the most talented entrepreneurs, from Scotland and elsewhere, have the best opportunities to develop their ideas here, bring them to market and create the successful new companies we need for our economy to continue to grow.

    ‘’Considering the challenges for budding entrepreneurs, many organisations have started to provide support   for entrepreneurs and mentors to help entrepreneurs upgrade their business skills,’’ she said.

  • Youth entrepreneurship: NGOs to the rescue

    Youth empowerment and entrepreneurship are critical to eliminating extreme poverty and ensuring economic growth. Some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are working to offer youths Gskills to start their own businesses. DANIEL ESSIET reports.

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) said more than 66 million young people aged between 15 and 24 across the world are unemployed.

    Nigeria is one of the nations affected, with unemployed youths accounting for more than half its unemployed population. This, according to experts, has made the need to increase skills training for youths compelling.

    Already, some Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have risen to the challenge. One of them is Afterschool Centre for Career Development (ACCD), a non-governmental, capacity development organisation committed to inspiring, investing in, and engaging young people.

    The NGO, which also facilitates growth opportunities for youth start-ups, was designed to encourage faster private sector growth by providing grants for start-ups; improving vocational training, and providing opportunities for retraining and volunteering.

    Specifically, the organisation is exploring opportunities in alternative energy solutions sector, where it targets solar power to create jobs for youths. According to the NGO, solar energy has great job opportunities.

    Faculty Lead, Afterschool Centre for Career Development, Miss Esther Eshiet, said the organisation was tackling youth unemployment and lack of energy access by training graduates in clean energy entrepreneurship.

    She said the organisation had launched Unwana, a national solar jobs project, which is part of its green jobs programme aimed at creating awareness, catalysing market demand and training skilled solar engineers and entrepreneurs to provide after sales services.

    This intervention, Eshiet said, will improve the uptake of solar energy solutions and greatly reduce dependency on fossil fuel.

    Delivered in partnership with ASteven Group and Verge Development Solutions, she said the solar engineering training will provide participants with the knowledge and skills needed to pursue a career in the solar energy field and become successful solar energy entrepreneurs and engineers.

    Eshiet added that the entrepreneurs will take part in practical activities to understand what can go wrong during the installation, the required panels, quality of products, and problems to look out for, among others.

    She said the organisation was keen on equipping solar entrepreneurs with all the right tools required to run their businesses.

    According to her, the beneficiaries will be able to launch their own sustainable energy enterprises to earn money for themselves while expanding energy access in their communities.

    Beyond the training component, Eshiet said the project was also providing start-up investment loans of up to N1 million to trainee solar engineers and entrepreneurs.

    ACCD is also focusing on improving the employability of graduates through volunteer and internship opportunities.

    The organisation has created an online platform called Opportunity Hub that links young people to available resources.

    Through the platform, it provides information on conferences, post-graduate degrees, vacancies and skills-development opportunities. It currently has more than 42, 000 subscribers on the platform.

    The Faculty Lead said the organisation has developed an e-mentoring programme, which enables young people have access to career services online through Opportunity Hub. It also allows them gain personal support and mentorship to realise their professional dreams.

    Another area the NGO has broken new grounds was in promoting access to finance for start-ups.  In collaboration with Heritage Bank and PIND Foundation, Afterschool Centre for Career Development held an ‘Access to Finance Workshop’ to expose Nigerians to the numerous funding opportunities available for entrepreneurs in high impact sectors.

    The sectors include manufacturing, technology, agriculture, real estate and retail. The workshop was attended by 121 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Calabar, Cross River State.

    The organisation also held a digital summer academy, where winners emerged at the end of the Academy’s Pitch Fest programme.

    One of them included Emilia Omini Okoi, who won the first prize with her idea, tagged ‘Revamp,’ an online portal to teach people to reuse and recycle their existing wares to wealth.  Her first prize included an HP Laptop and a six- month incubation and data support.

    The second prize winner, Francis Benjamin, won an HP Laptop, three months incubation and data support for his BandAid idea – a content curation platform for life bands and entertainers nationally.

    Third prize winner, Precious Inyang, won a Lenovo IdeaPad laptop, one month incubation and data support for Readlearn- a targeted learning platform for young people preparing for examinations.

    The Runner ups for the fourth and fifth prizes went to Smith Nkereuwem of Jalo App and Keyu Patrick, for her gerontology service idea for retired civil servants.

    Similarly, Start Hub, a tech incubator, based in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, is driving the growth of innovative digital companies.

    Start Hub is a lab with business centre facilities and all-in-one-open-space for entrepreneurs to leverage on Nigeria’s strength and capitalize on opportunities in the global economy.

    Its aim was to stimulate economic growth in the tech community by providing key ingredients like seed funding, mentorship and access to business expertise.

    Others are networking opportunities, peer review, pitch development, product testing and introduction to investors.

    As part of its entrepreneurship project, Start Innovation Hub is providing business training to young entrepreneurs.

    Its Founder, Johnson Hanson, said the hub conducts training programmes to tackle youth unemployment through entrepreneurship.

    According to him, the hub trains, nurtures, and supports entrepreneurs as they launch, grow and operate successful businesses.

    Hanson said the support he received from actors in the national and global start-up ecosystem and his participation in international fora where young entrepreneurs are given the right opportunities and support were crucial to his success.

    He said of all the ICT Hubs in Akwa-Ibom, Facebook chose Start-Innovation hub as its key partner, and that so far, more than 500 youths have been trained on entrepreneurship and ICT. There are over 145 people in the hub.

    Hanson believes that through greater investment and capacity building in digital literacy and skills development, Nigeria will be able to narrow employment gaps and create an environment in which everyone can thrive in the marketplace.

    Working with Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE), the hub has also been able to empower women in the region to start and run businesses using digital tools, ensure full, non-discriminatory education and skills training, and broaden access to finance and markets.

    The aim was, according to Hanson, was to promote women’s economic empowerment as a catalyst for growth in all sectors and also boost employment.

    Having graduated from the Federal University of Technology (FUTO), Owerri, with a major in Engineering, Johnson has over time developed himself to an information and communication technology (ICT) expert. He is now a role model for youths seeking a career in ICT.

    As a tech entrepreneur, Johnson is following his dream to shape the future of tech entrepreneurship in Africa.

  • Tecno: finance inhibiting youth entrepreneurship

    Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Tecno Mobile, has lamented access to fund for youths to make their dreams come true.

    It said the country is blessed with youths with very brilliant ideas which could lead to big businesses but are constrained by lack of access to finance.

    Its Public Relations and Strategic Partnership Manager, Mr. Jesse Oguntimehin who spoke at the grand finale of Tecno Mobile’s 2018 Light Up Your Dream campaign held at the firm’s Ikeja office, yesterday, said the firm would continue to empower youths so that they could realise their dreams as part of the firm’s policy of giving back to the society.

    He said: “Nigeria is filled with a lot of talented people that do not have the opportunity to bring that dream to the fore due to several reasons which of course includes finance. So, we are doing our bit by providing the finance to make things easier for them and we are very glad to get these young dreamers closer to their dream.”

  • Boosting youth entrepreneurship

    Boosting youth entrepreneurship

    Producing and inspiring entrepreneurs is not seen as a priority for most universities. Several organisations have introduced promising initiatives. One of such is Techpoint Build whose Techpoint Build 2018 was held in Lagos to expose young innovators to investors.

    To experts, entrepreneurship is a boom to a country in a fix on how to employ its growing youth population.

    Over the last one decade, Nigeria has witnessed the influx of people who have experience in the tech and startup world moving in to help move the ecosystem forward. One of this is Techpoint Build which   held its forum in Lagos. It was for startups, scale-ups, investors, and other innovators and featured thematic events.

    Techpoint CEO, Adewale Yusuf said it’s all about helping startups raise money, attract talent, and connect with peers, founders, venture capitalists, corporates, and policy makers.  Yusuf said the event was meant to connect entrepreneurs with funding and resources.

    He said the event focused on how to impact startups and scale-ups that are working on innovations that make Nigeria a better place.

    According to him, the bigger problem for Nigerian startups is securing the funding. He said through the platform, aspiring entrepreneurs and tech startups would be given  opportunity to present their business ideas or solutions for market commercialisation.

    The day was filled with an exciting programme with inspirational speakers, a pitch session and useful  opportunities between (tech) startups, investors, international organisations, developers, and corporates.

    Panelists  during  the session, themed “Keeping a business afloat”, were Go-To- Market Lead at Zoto, Osaze Osoba; Chief Transformation Officer, MTN, Adebayo Adekanmbi; (Developer Community Manager, Flutterwave, Modupe Durosimi-Etti and CEO, Skarabrand, Raymond Umeh.  Panelists encouraged startups to contribute to solving challenges.

    According to them, offering simple solutions serves as a test case of how young entrepreneurs can contribute to resolving big challenges. As soon as the panel session was over, the first pitch session was conducted. Placements, myPadi and Gerocare,were the service category startups who pitched to judges.

    The judges included: Chief Executive, Vconnect, Depankar Rustagi; a Senior Executive at MTN, Olanike Jagun; and Founder, Microtraction, Yele Bademosi).

    On the pitch side, The Footwear Academy, Wemove and Legitcar, were startups under the productivity category that tried to win the new set of judges over. After thorough consideration by a jury, the winner was Placements, an Internship classified site. It went home with N1 million. Founded last year, Placements is a platform that allows job seekers find paid internship opportunities across Nigeria. During the selection before the forum, 165 entries were  shortlisted. Out of this, nine start-ups emerged to compete for the prize money.

    Placements slugged it out with eight others which included Footwear Academy, service platform for training people in footwear making; Legitcar, an online platform which makes stolen vehicles difficult to resell, and easy to recover; Wemove, a startup building technology solutions, to ease transportation in Nigeria, starting with vehicle hire; and Accounteer, a smart cloud accounting platform for SMEs.

    Others were SmartTeller, a mobile and web application designed to innovate and automate field operations for microfinance institutions; myPadi, a marketplace for college students and young professionals to access both on-campus and off-campus local houses and shared rooms in every city across Nigeria; and Gerocare, a platform that provides regular medical doctor visits to the elderly in the comfort of their home as a subscription service. Top exhibitors included Union Bank, Nokia, Farmcrowdy, Flexisaf, Cloud Cover, Teamapt, Thank U and iROKO.

    Others were Ventures Platform, Paystack, MyMusic, Whogohost, Formplus, Accounteer, BudgIT, Leadspace.

  • ‘BoI’s YES lending to promote youth entrepreneurship’

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has said unlike the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), its Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) initiative is an on-lending scheme to promote youth entrepreneurship.

    It said the scheme is not a grant-giving scheme like the SURE-P, as the development finance institution is responsible to its investors and seeks to enhance sustainability by ensuring that funds are made available for developmental projects in the society.

    Its Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju aid many of the entries received under the YES programme, which is in its second phase, are false entries seeking free money and grants rather than entries willing to establish sustainable businesses in the country.

    He said: “We were encouraged by GEF and we moved to YES which was launched in March last year. It is a national programme and we have done two rounds where about 70, 000 applications were received even though we discovered that because we said N5 million will be the highest, some people went and sat down at a business centre for three days and started filing multiple entries.

    “By the time the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University, the major development centre driving the process did their checks, they realised that out of the 70,000, about 40,000 were false entries. They thought that the N5 million was per person and they were saying that if this is YES P , it could be like SURE P.

    “SURE P was a Federal Government based grant but the YES P is a lending programme. Most grants, particularly in our environment are not viable and sustainable because you are not trained and capacity is not built so this is why the emphasis is on viability and sustainability. We are reviewing the terms and conditions under the two schemes to see how we can fine-tune them without violating the prudential guidelines of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    “Our credit policy is predicated on the prudential guidelines and because we are a lending institution, we have to ensure that we operate within the law and operate within those guidelines. We cannot convert YES P to SURE P, it is a lending programme and not a grant. “We will continue to see how we can increase the access of our youths to the range of financial products that we offer at the BoI at much lower costs than commercial banks, because we lend at single digit rate.”

    The chairman of First Bank, Mrs Ibukun Awosika commended BoI for its efforts in addressing youth unemployment in the country through creative programmes that encourage growth of small businesses and promote youth entrepreneurship.

  • Encouraging youth entrepreneurship

    Encouraging youth entrepreneurship

    SIR: Nigeria is a country of many diverse opportunities. A country with a population of over 150 million individuals should be every entrepreneur’s paradise. Nigeria has however created a hostile environment that is unfavorable for youth to achieve entrepreneurial success.

    No doubt, the government has gone a long way to encourage entrepreneurship and has implemented some programmes to aid young Nigerians create jobs for themselves and also support their businesses. However these programmes have very little impact. Take for example the “YOUWIN” programme, the flagship entrepreneurship programme of the last administration.  The programme has only celebrated 1,200 awardees since its inception about three years ago. The figure, broken down, comes to 400 awardees a year with only a minor percentage below 30 years of age. There are around 80 million youths in Nigeria today with approximately 50 percent of that number unemployed. If the government carries on at that pace, it will probably solve the problem of unemployment in the next 50,000 years – assuming there are even 20 million unemployed youths in Nigeria!

    The country needs a much bigger programme that will accommodate a much larger percentage of the Nigerian young entrepreneurs. There are other programmes that are already ongoing such as the Bank of Industry loans and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention funds for entrepreneurs. The problem with these programmes is that they prioritize only women and agro-businesses.  Many of our talented youths today are into several other businesses such as retail, food, fashion and even real estate and they also equally require the same financial assistance from the government.

    We live in the most dynamic period in Nigerian history; the richest black man and the richest black woman in the world are both of Nigerian heritage. The youth are beginning to convert their excuses in to productive means and should be encouraged; the government needs to do more. The Muhammadu Buhari-led administration seems eager to promote youth development and also create jobs. It should bear in mind that this cannot happen without aligning its programme with those of the states. It will be impossible to implement an effective umbrella programme run from one office somewhere in the federal capital territory in a country with our population.

    Imagine the raw talents we have in Aba and what they can achieve with proper guidance and encouragement. Entrepreneurship and innovation courses should be taught right from secondary schools as it is key to our economic survival.

    I do not see how the government can employ all the 80 million or so unemployed Nigerians. Unfortunately those are the standards we have created for ourselves – waiting for the government to provide jobs for us! The first thing that comes to the mind of a student on leaving the university is which is the juiciest government agency they can work for?

    There is no security in government jobs; if in doubt, try interviewing retired civil servants. The youth must be encouraged; they cannot be confined to a failed process.

    • Aliyu B.Y Abubakar,

    Abuja.

     

  • Reducing unemployment via youth entrepreneurship

    Reducing unemployment via youth entrepreneurship

    Youth unemployment is on the rise in the country and it is a dangerous trend. Experts believe entrepreneurship will tackle the problem. This was the focus of the Youth Connect Programme held in Lagos, last week. Daniel Essiet, who was at the forum, reports.

    For  aspiring  entrepreneurs, a new dawn is here. For them, the ‘Youth Connect 2014 Forum’could not have come at a better time.

    Organised by Business Impact Limited and Strategy for  Mentoring Initiative and  Leadership Empowerment (SMILE), the forum  brought together successful entrepreneurs who are having a profound impact on uplifting and economically empowering women and men.

    The event, meant to bolster economic renewal, job creation and innovation through youth entrepreneurship, held at the University of Lagos.

    A motivational speaker at the ceremony, Fela Durotoye listed the  characteristics of an entrepreneur to include vision, hard work and focus.

    For him, one must be focused to be the best in the market. With a good vision and great execution, one’s  dreams can come true.

    He started his firm in the consulting industry.

    The crowning achievement of the consultancy is that by now his offer is very advanced and very interesting for potential clients. The main goal of the company is to be perceived as an efficient and goal-oriented consultancy, with the possibility of entering other markets.

    According to him, entrepreneurs need to be  open-minded, ready to  adapt to the market and the clients’ needs. One must maintain good relationships, be hard working, and ready to learn new things.

    The fundamentals that every entrepreneur should follow when starting a business is, start slow, take time and plan how to live the dream.

    According to him, young Nigerians are emerging as the greatest hope for renewed economic and social progress.

    Often struggling, he said a growing number of determined and innovative entrepreneurs are demonstrating they can have a positive impact on their communities.

    Durotoye said it was time  young people rose to achieve their full potential and shape the future with power and confidence.

    Durotoye said Nigerians need to think about more than employment to address this problem, adding that there are so many opportunities for young people to start their own businesses.

    For him, having started  early  set young  people  off on the most incredible journey to make  money.

    His advice: “When you are young, you have nothing to lose. No responsibilities, no mortgages, no  bills and literally everything you do will always be a step forward rather than a step back. So, if young people have an idea and what to get started, the only obstacle you face is you telling yourself that you can do it.”

    He  stressed the need for creativity among youths and pupils  to transform the economy and create jobs.

    Durotoye believes the younger a person gets to set up a business and see opportunities that are outside the norm of society, they will be considered different and extraordinary.

    His advice to young entrepreneurs is that they should begin to build their competencies while in the university and specialise their business so they can take it to scale.

    Chief Executive, Business Impact Limited, Mr Olatunde Samson,  said the forum was created to engage leaders in youth entrepreneurship, share best practices, affect positive policy change and create a network of young entrepreneur advocates.

    He  said it was to prepare  young people to productive and engaged citizens.

    At this critical point of the economy, he said young people need to deploy their unique talents and innovative ideas to address their nation’s challenges, urging the government to support young people  access opportunities to realise their potential and revitalise their communities.

    With nearly 45 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population  under  15, and that youthful population will not even peaking for another 15 years, he noted a lot of youths wouldn’t be able to find a job, and many more who are working unable to climb out of poverty.

    He reiterated that there’s also an ever-growing band of young entrepreneurs who are demonstrating that when given the chance, even those from the most marginalised communities can launch their own businesses and in the process, create jobs, and help fuel growth and progress in their communities.

    With nation looking for an effective response to the economic  crisis, the Founder, SMILE, Mrs. Bimpe Martins,  said  youths  could  stand up, to promote a new entrepreneurial spirit, develop sustainable businesses, to massively create new, quality jobs.

    To her, supporting women entrepreneurs to further grow their business is key to positively impacting the country on both social and economic levels.