Skills: Niger empowers 3,000 young entrepreneurs
By Rita Iliya
Niger Government has trained 3,000 young entrepreneurs on financial literacy and business management skills, as part of its capacity building initiative in the state.
Hajiya Hauwa Bako, Special Adviser to the governor on Social Investment Programme (SIP), stated this at a 3-day training of the second batch of the youths on Tuesday in Minna.
She said that the training was conducted by the state government in collaboration with MasterCard Foundation and Enterprise Development Centre.
According to Bako, the online and offline training programme tagged: ‘Transforming Nigerian Youth (TNY) was launched in March to train 10,000 youths, particularly young women, between the ages of 18 and 35.
“The training is being conducted in batches, with 2,000 young entrepreneurs already being trained online and almost 1,000 trained physically in the first batch.
“The aim is to transform the mindset of these young entrepreneurs, move them from the informal to the formal market and provide them with access to markets,” she said.
She revealed that the 50 First Class graduates trained in May as Business Development Service Providers were already working with small business startup and existing businesses, and providing them with necessary support.
Bako commended Gov. Umaru Bago of Niger for his human capital development initiatives, especially for women and youths to excel in their various endeavours.
Also speaking, Alhaji Shehu Bwari, Coordinator, Entrepreneurship, Ministry for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise, described the training as one of the best initiatives to come to the state.
“For years, we have been skilling up young people in the state without tangible results, but with this business development entrepreneurship guide, our youths are ready to conquer the world,” he said.
In his remarks, Mr Yusuf Christopher, Project Coordinator, Enterprise Development Centre, said the training would help young entrepreneurs build their capabilities on how to own successful and sustainable businesses.
“We will be training them on capacity building, also provide mentorship for three months and help them register their businesses for those yet to do so,” he said.
In their separate remarks, some of the beneficiaries, Fatima Abdullahi and Fatima Hamza, expressed appreciation to the state government for the initiative.
“We have learnt how to establish a business, handle it and make it grow, I see myself as one of the biggest business owners in the state in the next five years,” Abdullahi said.
“The training has been impactful, providing us with new ideas on how to grow our businesses,” Hamza added. (NAN)
Edited by Isaac Ukpoju
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