Economic Empowerment
Source: AllAfrica
Lagos, Nigeria — Today, the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) announced a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation to launch the Transforming Nigerian Youths program. Recognizing that employment is a pathway out of poverty, the program seeks to create a network of entrepreneurial and managerial change makers, particularly young people and women across the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, in Nigeria. In a bid to help reduce the unemployment rate in the country, the free training program aims to boost employment creation and sustainable livelihoods.
This program is open to all and is primarily focused on the Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna states. Through this program, 40,000 young people will be supported with the resources and learning required to start, grow, and expand their businesses. The program will also provide support and resources to young people who want to become employable in the creative and agricultural sectors.
In the last decade, Nigeria’s unemployment rate has continued to increase. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate as at the second quarter of 2020 was 27.1 percent, indicating that about 21,764,614 (21.7 million) Nigerians remain unemployed, of which 13.9 million are young people.
Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) of the Pan-Atlantic University, a leading enterprise development Centre, has in the last 17 years, provided support services to thousands of SMEs through capacity building, advisory services, and partnerships with organizations that have an interest in the development of the SME sector in Nigeria.
“We are excited to be part of the Transforming Nigerian Youths program to empower young Nigerians, especially women. It will serve as a catalyst for entrepreneurial reorientation, job creation, and sustainable livelihood,” says Mr. Peter Bankole, Deputy Director, Enterprise Development Centre, Pan-Atlantic University.
The intervention will scale EDC’s online learning capabilities to provide core business training to an even broader grouping of SMEs in the agricultural and creative sectors of the economy. It will also ensure that even the most marginalized, including young women in the north, can access this world class training.
“Young Africa Works in Nigeria is committed to enabling opportunity for at least eight million young Nigerians. Entrepreneurship will play a key role in achieving this goal. Fortunately, Nigeria also has no shortage of young entrepreneurs. This initiative, which is part of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy, will prepare and enable young people to pursue their aspirations and create productive livelihoods for themselves and others,” says Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head, Nigeria at the Mastercard Foundation.
Applications are open for young Nigerians, especially women within the age range of 18-35.