The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Unlock Training Programme, has awarded N500,000 grants to 120 unemployed youths to help them start their own businesses.
Ms. Abiola Arogundade, the Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, explained that these grants were given to those with the best business proposals.
She spoke at the closing ceremony of the Unlock Training Programme, where participants received grants, solar kiosks, and certificates.
Arogundade said that the programme followed a six-week campaign where Nigerian youths submitted one-minute videos showcasing their current skills and future plans, along with requests for government support.
Arogundade said; “The Unlock Training Programme was the outcome of a six-week Campaign initiated by my office during which Nigerian youths were asked to record and submit a one-minute video on their current technical, vocational and entrepreneurship skills, what their plans are for the future on such skills and how they want government to assist them achieve their plans. The purpose was to boost their potentials for economic development.
“At the end of that campaign, we trained about 10,000 participants in a 10-day intensive training session on how to write and execute Business Plans.
“During the programme, both online and physical participants were trained on the components of a good Business Plan including Executive Summary, Business Overview and Marketing Strategies, Pricing, Money Management and Risks, among others.
“After the course, participants were asked to write and submit Business Plans. Today, we are giving out N500,000 grants each to 120 winners with the best Business Plans.
“We are also giving out honourary awards to 80 persons seen to be doing very well in their Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship skills but need support to upscale their businesses.
“We also promised to give Certificates of Completion to all participants who completed the training and to assist participants, especially new start-ups, to register their companies. Today, we are here to fulfill those promises”.
She said Staff of the Corporate Affairs Commission were on hand to issue incorporation certificates to the participants, while staff of a commercial bank were also on ground to credit the accounts of beneficiaries.
Arogundade expressed hope that the grants would boost their businesses and announced plans for more future programmes to support skills and enterprise.
She thanked ministers and stakeholders who supported the initiative and congratulated all participants for their dedication and successful completion of the programme.
“I am here to assure you that the President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is thinking about you, not just because of this programme but because of the numerous initiatives he is creating across the country to promote technical, vocational and entrepreneurship skills.
“An example of this is the inclusion of technical, vocational and entrepreneurship skills in the Students Loans, inauguration of Skills Council in the Presidency, Human Capital Development Council, in collaboration with the Governors under the National Economic Council, SUPA (Skill-Up Artisans), ITF and numerous others.
“We will like to also say that this is one of our many programmes in supporting skills and enterprise and we intend to continue to do so in our office. So if you are not a winner today, please continue to apply to participate in our future programmes”, she added.
She thanked ministers and stakeholders who supported the initiative and congratulated all participants for their dedication and successful completion of the programme.
“We have no doubt that you learnt very valuable lessons on how to conduct businesses henceforth and, to that extent, we celebrate you today; you are all winners,” she said.
Providus Bank provided incorporation certificates and credited the winners’ accounts with the N500,000 grants. Four solar kiosks equipped for various business purposes were also awarded to some winners to aid their business growth.
The kiosks were also equipped with sockets for phone charging and spaces for POS and other businesses.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, urged the winners to make good use of the grants and facilities and encouraged youths to acquire skills.
Winners expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the life-changing opportunity, with Ms. Oluwaseun Kekere-ekun advising youths to start small, dream big, and stay focused.
“We thank the President for this great opportunity and for giving hope to our youths, it shows that with him, there is indeed hope for youths in the country,” Ms Oluwaseun Kekere-ekun, one of them, said.
Kekere-ekun, who was one of the resources persons, said the programme was a fantastic opportunity to ignite the entrepreneurial skills of youths in the country.