The Federal Government has announced its intention to support at least 5,000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members with N10 million each.
The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim said the beneficiaries would use the funds to kickstart their entrepreneurial endeavors upon completing their NYSC service.
Jamila Bio-Ibrahim disclosed this during the opening ceremony of the first meeting between NYSC management and heads of Corps Producing Institutions (CPI) in Nigeria, held in Abuja on Monday.
She clarified that this funding initiative is part of the upcoming NYSC reforms and is separate from the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund program slated for 2024.
Dr. Ibrahim announced the formation of a team tasked with reviewing, restructuring, and reforming the NYSC program.
The minister emphasized the need to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the NYSC program, making it more beneficial to both the nation and Corps members.
She envisioned a future where the NYSC becomes not only self-sustaining but also a revenue-generating program within five years.
“The thrust of these reforms will be centred on imbuing participants with an entrepreneurship mindset and making skills development the core of the programme.”
“Though that is already part of the objectives carried out by the scheme, the aim is to partner with it to strengthen the mandate.
“How do we make the scheme more efficient, more effective and more beneficial to both the nation and the Corps members?
“So, we envision a future where the NYSC programme is not only self-sustaining, but also a revenue generating programme within the next five years.
“To achieve this, we will institutionalise the NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management outfit,” she said.
The minister added that the Federal Government plans to institutionalize NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management entity.
She noted that this initiative aims to leverage NYSC assets for strategic investments in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, garment making, communication, and digital banking.
Dr. Ibrahim highlighted the administration’s commitment to investing in youth-led entrepreneurial ventures as a crucial step towards advancing Nigeria’s economy.
She stressed the role of the National Youth Skills program in these reforms, announcing a condensed six-month version of the usual 12-month program.
“The National Youth Skills programme will play a pivotal role in these reforms. While typically a 12-month programme this year, we’ll start a six months abridged version.
“We expect the ventures funded to emerge from this programme in various strategic sectors driving innovation and economic growth,” she added.
She urged participants, as custodians of higher education in Nigeria, to recognize their responsibility in nurturing the intellectual, moral, and civic capacities of the nation’s youth.
