BY MICHAEL EBOH

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Canadian Government has announced plans to promote Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, and Youth entrepreneurship in Nigeria.

Speaking at the Young Entrepreneurs Forum, organized by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG and the Government of Canada, Minister for Youth Development, Mr. Bolaji Abdullahi, said the Federal Government’s decision to stop the posting of members of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to banks, other financial institutions, oil companies and some private organisations, was part of a plan to instill entrepreneurial spirit in Nigerian youths.

Abdullahi said the Federal Government has decided that, henceforth, corps members will be posted to agricultural institutions, farms, educational institutions and infrastructure development firms.

According to Abdullahi, this will help empower the youths with the needed skills and enterprise to drive the economic growth and development of the country.

He said, “The whole idea is instead of the youths storming the roads like soldiers that they are not, they will participate in venture that will help prepare them for their future and the future of the country.

“We are committed to growing the next generation of young entrepreneurs who know how to write good business plans and not graduates who know how to write good curriculum vitae.”

Abdullahi explained further that the need to instill an entrepreneurial spirit in Nigerian youths was the reason the federal government set up the You WIN project.

The minister who, however stated that the project is yet to achieve the envisaged result, noted that the programme is designed to provide aspiring youths with a platform to showcase their business acumen, skills and aspirations to business leaders, investors and mentors in Nigeria.

He explained that the programme which will be an annual Business Plan Competition, BPC, for aspiring young entrepreneurs, in line with the Federal Government’s drive to create more jobs for Nigerians, is targeted at Nigerian youth with well-developed and new business concept, or innovation/expansion plan for an existing enterprise.

Speaking in the same vein, Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Chris Cooter, said the Canadian Government is set to harness the potentials of the Nigerian youths to promote bi-lateral trade between Canada and Nigeria.

He said the country has set up a development and training programme in Nigeria to help fine-tune and sharpen the skills and potentials of youths in the country.

He said Canada is poised to tap the opportunities presented by Nigeria’s young population in unleashing its economic prowess in the country, especially in bringing about an increase in investment by firms in Canada in Nigeria.

Cooter said Canada will help in reviving some moribund sectors of the Nigeria economy and in deploying advanced technological infrastructure to help fast track Nigeria’s economic development.

Director-General, NESG, Mr. Frank Nweke, said the programme is an offshoot of the National economic summit organized yearly by the NESG and has as its focus, taking the responsibility for foreign investment and global partnership.