BANK OF INDUSTRY (BOI) PARTNERS NYSC TO REDEFINE ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT, YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

THE WORLD OVER, THERE HAS BEEN A RENEWED INTEREST IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT AMONGST YOUTHS. THIS INTEREST IS PRECIPITATED NOT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF IMPROVING THE PRIVATE SECTOR BUT TO EMPOWER YOUTHS AND EQUIP THEM TO IMPACT ON THE SOCIETY.

The Bank of Industry and the National Youth Service Corps are two stakeholders who have keyed into the perception of driving youths towards the path of real sector entrepreneurs rather than job seekers with the recent initiation of the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF).
The GEF is a Special Fund solely set aside as a lifeline for Nigerian youths whose interest is drawn towards setting up businesses and innovation geared towards improving themselves and impacting on the society.

The N2 Billion Fund was actually launched on October 5, 2015 as a joint initiative between the BOI and the NYSC with the aim of;
• Encouraging graduates to delve into entrepreneurship;
• Address the entrepreneurship gap of NYSC members with a rigorous 3-day capacity building programme;
• Deepening financial inclusion by de-risking NYSC members and making them eligible for concessional loans ranging between N500,000 and N2 million from BOI;
• Ensure sustainability of the businesses of the eventual loan beneficiaries through monitoring by the NYSC and BOI.
• Taking up this huge responsibility in partnership with NYSC DG, Brigadier General J.B Olawumi, the MD of BOI Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa was present at the NYSC Camp in Lagos yesterday to flag off the extensive training of carefully selected Corps members of the NYSC.

In an Interview with him, the MD explained to pressmen that the tradition of seeing Corps members concentrating on creating CVs and desperately seeking employment will change with this efforts as Nigerian youths are capable of building real businesses with the potential of making the needed impact in the real sector.
He added that “We need to encourage youth corps members to create an alternative to job search, making them into business men and women and employers of labour”, saying “the ideas the BOI have seen so far are ideas in the real sector, not just petty business ideas”.

Mr. Rasheed also explained that the ultimate goal of the 3-day training is to inculcate the strategies of business creation in Corps members from design of business proposals, to management and strategies and product design as all these skills will ensure the beneficiaries utilise all loans being given to them properly without defaulting.

Also present at the flag-off of the training yesterday is the Lagos State Coordinator of the NYSC, Mr. Cyril Akhanemhe who commended the BOI and the DG of NYSC for the productive partnership. He revealed his excitement while ensuring a productive outcome from the programme.

Mr. Cyril said “the BOI has taken very concrete steps to making sure that young men and women who have very credible ideas have access to loans with very low digits”, adding that “there are many Corps members whose ideas do not come to fruition due to paucity of funds”. With the availability of this fund from the Bank of Industry, he also encouraged Corps members to take advantage of the opportunity as “Nigeria depends upon them not to fail, and without the talent and ingenuity of the Nigerian Youth, Nigeria will not develop”.

The 3-day training continues today and ends tomorrow, Friday after which participants will head out on their desired quest to becoming top entrepreneurs in the coming months and years.
For more information on the BOI/NYSC Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund, head to the official website of BOI, www.boi.ng

Culled from; Abujafact.ng