MTN Foundation Trains Over 2,000 Young Nigerians in Digital, Business Skills

The MTN Foundation has trained over 2,000 young Nigerians in digital and business skills through its ICT Skills and Training Programme, equipping young entrepreneurs and SMEs with practical tools to boost productivity and long-term growth.

Entrepreneurship: DBN, OEAHD, Empower 200 Vulnerable Women In North East

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) has empowered over 200 vulnerable women with entrepreneurial development skills in Gombe and Yobe States. The programme which is a partnership with the Organisation for Environmental, Agricultural and Health Development (OEAHD) is aimed at providing soft skill acquisition for selected women, including physically challenged women in the North-Eastern part of the country. Addressing participants at the Entrepreneurial Skills Acquisition Training and Capacity Building event, the National Coordinator, OEAHD, Hon. Tabitha Iliya Sallah re-emphasized the significant roles women play in the socio-economic development of the nation. According to her, “The importance of women’s participation in entrepreneurship cannot be overstated. It is not just about fostering gender equality, but also about tapping into the full potential of our nation’s human resources. As entrepreneurs, women have the power to innovate, create jobs, and drive economic growth, because when women are economically empowered, their communities and the nation at large benefit.” “The fact that this program has been made possible through the collaboration of OEAHD and DBN is a testament to our collaborative commitment and dedication to women’s economic empowerment across regions; especially displaced women.” She stated. Commending DBN for sustaining its long-term vision of alleviating financing constraints faced by MSMEs and Small Corporations in Nigeria, Hon. Sallah noted that by providing training, mentorship, and access to finance, the bank is creating a nurturing environment for women to thrive in the business world, hereby bridging the gender gap and promoting sustainable economic development. “DBN as we all know has been at the forefront of empowering women in business with unlimited access to finance and knowledge to prosper and build viable enterprises that will enable them to improve their livelihoods and contribute to the socio-economic development of their immediate families and communities” She posited. The Organization for Agriculture and Health Development (OEAHD) is an NGO that is passionate about assisting the less privileged and vulnerable, particularly women and children and internally displaced persons etc regardless of race, colour, gender, social status, political affiliations in Nigeria. While the OEAHD have carried out several humanitarian services in the Northeastern part of the country, their operation is Nationwide with regional offices in Abuja and Gombe. The organization’s major service areas cover – Agriculture, Health and, Education. The Managing Director of DBN, Dr Tony Okpanachi, affirmed that the training was in line with the bank’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the capacity of MSMEs in the country so that they could continue to contribute more to the National Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “We believe that this partnership with OEAHD and by extension the entrepreneurial and capacity development initiative will have a significant impact on the lives of the targeted women in Gombe and Yobe State respectively, fostering their empowerment and contributing to sustainable development in the region”. “Up to date, about 62 percent of our lending has gone to women-owned businesses. Most of them are Micro and Small Businesses. Our goal is to continue to nurture and empower women across regions, the ultimate objective being to grow and upscalethem from micro to large businesses.” He stressed. He further stated that the women have received comprehensive vocational skills training that will enable them to start their businesses or enhance existing ones, thereby improving their economic wellbeing.

Nigeria, France Sign Pact To Support Young Entrepreneurs, Boost Employment

The Federal Government on Friday signed an agreement with France on the Digital and Creative Enterprise (I-DISE) programme aimed at promoting employment opportunities in Nigeria. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar and the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of France, Catherine Colonnade signed the bilateral agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja on behalf of both countries. The agreement was also witnessed by Bosun Tijani the Minister of Communications who represented the Vice President of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima. Tuggar said the I-DICE programme is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria, spearheaded by the Office of the Vice President and aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the digital technology and creative industry sectors. According to the minister, with a focus on job creation, the programme is set to significantly impact young Nigerians, by assisting them to create sustainable employment opportunities, develop high value-added industries and contribute to the development of the Nigerian economy. He said the programme would train two million young people, whilst encouraging them to structure their own ecosystem, through access to financing for the creation of innovative businesses and start-ups. Tuggar said the programme is being financed by the French Development Agency (AFD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) & the Bank of Industry (BOI). He said of the 600 million dollar value of I-DICE, the AFD is contributing 100 million euros (equivalent to $116 million). He added that the programme would also receive funding and support from the private sector and institutional investors adding that the Bank of Industry, as the Implementing Agency, will coordinate the day-to-day activities of the project. Colonnade thanked all the partners and co-financers including the l’Agence Française de Développement, bien sûr. She said the purpose of this ambitious programme is to support young entrepreneurs and innovators. She added that the programme will promote the employability of Nigerian youth, enable Nigeria to boost the capacities of its very promising digital technology and creative industries and help thousands of young Nigerian entrepreneurs to unleash their talents. “Those digital technology and creative industries have indeed enormous potential to create jobs and spur economic growth in Nigeria. “We are very pleased that the French Agency for Development is stepping into these sectors, enabling us to scale up significantly our actions through the I-DICE programme,’’ she said. According to her, the programme is expected to include nearly two million youth in the training sessions of which 40 per cent would be women. “The programme will create more than 65,000 start-ups, 150,000 direct jobs in the technology and creative industries sectors and approximately 1.3 million indirect jobs.’’ Speaking on behalf of the vice president, Tijani said Shettima champions youth development and the Nigerian government’s efforts to boost the employability of young people by focusing on promising careers in the digital, cultural and creative industries. “As part of our efforts to stimulate the growth of the Nigerian economy and mainstream the application of technology in critical sectors, we welcome the support of the French government as they collaborate with us to leapfrog technological advancements for the benefit of our startup ecosystem. “This funding from the AFD for the I-DICE programme is a testament to France’s historical commitment to the growth of startups which is evidenced by its position as a leading startup destination in Europe”.

Conducive Business Environment, Panacea To Ending Africa’s Youth Migration –Elumelu

The Founder/Chairman, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Mr. Tony Elumelu, has said that a conducive business environment is the panacea to Africa’s youth migration. Elumelu, who said this at a dinner held for visiting European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms Jutta Urpilainen in Abuja, added that youth migration can only stop when the continent’s leaders develop an economy where there is employment and prosperity. According to him, private sector players, development partners and the government must join hands saying that it was about time citizens were economically empowered rather than the occasional handouts that are doled out.   He said, “What is important is for all of us to demonstrate confidence and continue to push and advocate for better governance and the right enabling environment. “There are so many global private capitals looking for the right investment destination. If we turn our country to the right investment destination, capital will come and when capital comes, we are able to develop the country to create employment, jobs and fix insecurity and in that process, we create prosperity for posterity.” Speaking further, the TEF Founder said it was about time the EU and other development partners pool resources together to empower young Africans. “We want to see our young men and women live well in Africa in our lifetime and is this possible? Yes. But how do we make it possible? When all of us – successful rich Africans, friends of Africa like the EU – when we all team up to bring resources together, collaborate to prioritise young Africans, we will achieve that. “We believe the ultimate solution to insecurity is economic empowerment and we believe that in the 21st century, it is not about handouts but about economically empowering people so they can look after themselves.” Elumelu revealed that since its inception, the Foundation has spent over $100 million empowering over 18,000 young African entrepreneurs. According to him, they were able to create wealth through careful entrepreneurship empowerment. He said, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation has committed $100 million to impact 18,000 young African entrepreneurs by giving them a seed capital of $5,000 and training them for six weeks as well as providing mentors to coach them. They in turn have gone to create thousands of jobs, which is the impact we want to see. “The impact report of the foundation shows that it has created over 400,000 jobs and we will continue to invest more in youth entrepreneurship.” He said the partnership with the EU will further deepen the collaboration as the Foundation seeks to attract investments into the continent. In her remarks, Urpilainen said the EU is committed to its partnership with TEF, noting that the Foundation was doing a great job through the empowerment of young entrepreneurs across the continent. She said, “I wanted to get rid of this kind of donor-reciFoundation was doing a great job of pient relationship where we as donors tell and impose what we expect from Africans under our partnerships; “So, we really wanted to change the paradigm and create mutually beneficial partnerships. “And in order to be able to succeed, we also created this Global Gateway Investment Strategy and it was adopted two years ago.

SMEDAN Empowers 40 Entrepreneurs With Laptops, ICT Skills

The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has trained and empowered 40 entrepreneurs with Information Communication Technology (ICT) and digital skills in Ebonyi. The Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr Olawale Fasanya, said this during the closing ceremony of a three-day training and empowerment programme held in Abakaliki on Friday. The programme was targeted at young entrepreneurs to improve micro small and medium enterprises. Fasanya, who was represented by Mr Chigozie Asochukwu, SMEDAN Coordinator in Ebonyi, said that the importance of ICT in doing business cannot be over-emphasised. He said the empowerment programme, which was in collaboration with Dole International Company Ltd., was aimed at giving business owners e-commerce know-how to increase their contributions to the nation’s GDP. He reiterated the agency’s commitment to business growth, urging the beneficiaries to practice what they had learnt. “This will go a long way in enhancing productivity, customer engagement and give the entrepreneurs a competitive advantage in doing businesses. “It will help in digital knowledge and tools needed to grow businesses online as well as enable efficient communication, data management and analysis. “This is a three-day training and the participants were engaged in three module including Google digital skills, digital market fundamental and business formalisation,” Fasanya said. Mr Njoku Ozoemena, who spoke on behalf of “City Boys Movement”, said the training became necessary to enhance e-commerce in the country. Ozoemena hailed the Federal Government for putting up the programme and urged the trainees to utilise the knowledge. One of the beneficiaries, Kelechi Njoku, lauded SMEDAN for exposing them to modern skills for business and pledged to utilise what she had learnt. The agency later gave laptops to the trainees to enable them promote their businesses. 

Development Bank builds capacity of 1,000 MSMEs

In continuation of its capacity development training programmes for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has organised a one-day training for over 1,000 small businesses across six states in the North-East and North-West. The MSMEs were spread across Gombe, Maiduguri, Adamawa, Katsina, Sokoto and Kebbi states.  The capacity training programme, which was conducted in each of the locations, had facilitators with experts in business management for small and medium-scale enterprises.  A statement from DBN stated that the training focused on optimisation and development of skills, aimed at further strengthening the capacity of the beneficiaries to scale up their businesses.  It also said the key objective of the training programme across locations, was to help the owners of the businesses develop their capacity and gain better knowledge of how they could access the DBN funding through the participating financial intermediaries (PFI). The Managing Director/CEO, Development Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, commended the facilitators for bringing their expertise and experience to bear and expressed the optimism that the training would have a lasting impact on the participants and their businesses.   He affirmed that the training was in line with the Bank’s unwavering commitment to strengthening the capacity of MSMEs in the country so that they can continue to contribute more to the economic growth and development of the country.  Okpanachi said: “The strategic role of MSMEs as enablers of socio-economic development cannot be over-emphasised. A larger percentage of businesses in Nigeria are in the informal sector dominated by MSMEs. The MSMEs sector is a significant pillar of Nigerian economic growth; they make up 97 percent of businesses, generate six million jobs and contribute 50 per cent of the national GDP. “Small businesses are value-creators and they create wealth for individuals. At DBN, we are passionately committed to seeing MSMEs increase their capacity for growth and expansion, and being more sustainable so that together, we can continue to build a stronger economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.” The Development Bank of Nigeria through its numerous capacity training platforms has enriched the knowledge and capacity of MSMEs owners in the country through regular highly-enriching training initiatives and retooling, thereby positioning them for sustainable growth and expansion.   One of the platforms is the annual DBN Entrepreneurship Training Programme (DBNETP) currently in its 5th Cycle and has benefitted over 2000 MSMEs across Nigeria who have been trained digitally and physically, leveraging partnerships and the DBN Learning Management System (LMS).