Empowering the youth is a critical aspect of sustainable economic development that requires the provision of resources such as funds and education to aid in the establishment of sustainable businesses. Last Friday’s empowerment of five thousand persons who graduated from the first batch of the “One youth, two skills” Solution Initiative with start-up grants to the tune of two billion naira to launch their businesses is another commendable step in the right direction towards achieving this objective.
Entrepreneurship is a powerful tool for stimulating economic growth. It provides opportunities for job creation, wealth generation, innovation, and sustainable economic development. However, starting up a new business requires resources, and access to funds is often a significant barrier faced by potential entrepreneurs. As such, the decision by the Governor Chukwuma Soludo administration to help over five thousand youths in the state acquire skills in different key area and also empower them with grants as launch pads is not just timely but strategic. The Governor’s initiative sheds light on the importance of providing financial support and training programme to entrepreneurs, particularly young entrepreneurs, to build and sustain their businesses.
The five thousand beneficiaries of the grant were chosen after a rigorous selection process, which involved a thorough assessment of the feasibility, scalability, and potential for growth of their proposed businesses. This process ensured that only those with viable, innovative, and sustainable business ideas were selected.
The start-up grant provided by the government, depends on the scale of the project. However, the beneficiaries were provided with rigorous training and mentorship programmes to help them set up and manage their businesses effectively. It was expected to equip them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and techniques needed to build and sustain their businesses. This training will help them develop business models, understand market trends, build teams, manage finances, and evaluate growth strategies.
To put into perspective, the “One Youth, Two Skills” Solution Initiative is a youth development initiative of the Governor Soludo’s administration to create massive employment for the youth and boost the micro, small and medium scale enterprises sector of the Anambra state economy. It comprises five stages: apprenticeship, entrepreneurship, formation of cooperative societies, business financing and one-year mentorship. It follows an amplified version of the age-long “Igba-boi” model, thereby reinventing the Igbo approach to job creation.
Six thousand youths were trained in twenty-one skill areas in agriculture, ICT, solar power engineering and many other sectors. However, five thousand successful trainees of the number were empowered.
Interestingly, the start up grants is not all about the credit facility that will be made available to these five thousands persons. In fact, there is a provision to provide them single digit loans to the tune of five million naira through the Anambra State Small Business Agency, ASBA which will be given to them when have formed sustainable cooperative societies.
With this move, the Anambra State government has created five thousand direct jobs and it is expected that with the mentorship support they will be given for the next one year, these five thousand businesses will go on to provide thousands of indirect jobs. What this means is that the present administration in less than two years has created a massive potential for thousands of direct and indirect jobs. This is bearing in mind that it employed over 5000 teachers last year; is in a new recruitment process for another 3000 teachers and that the Solution Innovation District has trained thousands in different digital skill areas.
The next step is that Governor Soludo has announced that the state government targets to empower ten thousand youths in the next batch of the initiative. Young people are, therefore, encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to acquire one skill or the other and to become self-reliant. There is no longer any reason to be out of job or engage in criminality.
The underlying game changer here is that the state government understands that government alone cannot provide enough jobs that will reduce unemployment rate in the state and the country at large but by leveraging the opportunity of helping youths to acquire skills in different areas and providing them with necessary financing, it will systematically create jobs in geometric progression that will in turn boost the economic base of the state.
Written by EJIKE ABANA
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