By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA — THE Federal Government on Tuesday, announced grants of N1 million each for 200 youth-led startups and N500,000 each for 100 beneficiaries in the informal sector.

This is as President Bola Tinubu has reaffirmed that empowering Nigeria’s youth remains a deeply personal priority.

Consequently, the President has unveiled a coordinated suite of digital-skills, enterprise, and innovation programmes aimed at positioning young Nigerians for national transformation and global competitiveness.

Represented by his Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the launch of the second edition of the Nigeria Youth Academy, NiYA, Startups grants and the unveiling of the NiYA Gig digital-work platform at the Old Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, Tinubu said youth empowerment is central to Nigeria’s future and the engine of his Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to him, “From the earliest days of this administration, I made a firm decision that Nigeria’s youth will not stand on the margins of our national development. This commitment is not political; it is personal.”.

President Tinubu highlighted reforms designed to expand opportunities for youth-led enterprises, including easing tax compliance for small businesses, incentivising digital and creative-economy founders, and building a pipeline of young global service providers through NiYA Academy, NiYA Startup, NiYA Jobs, and the newly launched NiYA Gigs.

He commended the Ministry of Youth Development for expanding NiYA’s reach following the success of its debut edition, which selected beneficiaries from more than 14,000 applicants nationwide.

Also speaking, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said government was preparing young Nigerians to compete globally by investing in digital infrastructure, skills development, and creating a level playing field for innovation.

He said: “Nigeria’s youth are our demographic advantage. With proper preparation, young Africans will make up 25 percent of the world’s workforce by 2050.”

Edun noted that expanded broadband, digital-skills training, and sector automation will allow youth to provide exportable services without leaving the country.

Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the administration is building a comprehensive youth-empowerment ecosystem, from skills acquisition to enterprise creation and income generation.

He announced grants of N1 million each for 200 youth-led startups and N500,000 each for 100 beneficiaries in the informal sector, describing the funds as “not loans, but fuel for your journey.”

Olawande also launched NiYA Gig, a national digital-work platform connecting young Nigerians to paid opportunities locally and globally, and highlighted the success of youth-support initiatives such as the Nigerian Youth Help Desk and the WhatsApp AI Chatbot, which has engaged over one million young Nigerians.

On her part, Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite Udoka, stated that the Tinubu-led administration is accelerating financial-sector reforms to ease access to credit, expand concessional loans, strengthen tax incentives, and scale digital infrastructure to support youth-led MSMEs.

“These initiatives are deliberately designed to stimulate entrepreneurship and deepen the creativity that defines the Nigerian spirit,” she said, adding that strengthened financial-inclusion tools, e-commerce access, and accountability systems ensure resources reach their intended beneficiaries.

In a goodwill message, Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, described Nigeria’s youthful, digitally fluent population as the nation’s greatest asset and the engine of a diversified economy.

“Our human capital, our talent, is our new oil,” he said, noting that over 70 percent of Nigeria’s 230 million citizens are under 18.

Abdullahi pledged NITDA’s continued support for the Ministry of Youth Development, highlighting longstanding collaboration on the National Digital Ecosystem Academy and talent-development platforms.

Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination, Hadiza Bala Usman, stressed that achieving Tinubu’s vision of a $1 trillion economy hinges on unlocking the full potential of Nigeria’s youth.

She said ongoing reforms of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) are designed to convert the scheme into a capacity-building launchpad for future-ready careers, and commended NASENI and NITDA for supporting innovation-driven development.

Speakers at the launch reaffirmed that Nigeria’s economic future will be built on the skills, creativity, and enterprise of its young people, with the administration constructing a national empowerment framework to help them rise.