Business Matters Incubators has announced its “Catch Them Young” program for children ages 7 to 14.
The event, which was held recently in Lagos, brought together educationalists, businessmen, politicians and students from various schools around Lagos State to share helpful tips from BMI.
BMI Founder and Senior Consultant Nnamdi Nchukwu explained that the initiative is aimed at addressing long-standing gaps in Nigeria’s education system.
He said: “We choose to say this: We have found the missing link that secures the future of young Nigerians as future nation builders.” This is a call to action for educational reforms that will shape the future of this country’s young people and stand in the way in some parts of this country.
“We have discovered the most innovative way to use entrepreneurial education to increase the productivity of Nigeria’s teeming youth and reduce poverty, unemployment, fraud and insecurity.
“It took years of research, consultation and hard work to develop this initiative that teaches students aged 7 to 14 the skills, mentality and mindset they need to become great entrepreneurs. The initiative uses a comprehensive methodology for entrepreneurship education in Africa. The initiative is called BMI-CTY (Business Matters Incubators: Catch Them Young).
According to Mr Nchukwu, rising trends in unemployment, poverty, youth crime and fraud, as well as many short-term approaches to addressing future problems, were worrying the BMI.
“We also found that the various methodologies deployed to address this sinister trajectory were all short-lived and disappeared as new governments took office every four years,” he said.
Mr Nachukwu further explained that basic schools have specific characteristics and challenges and require a well-structured methodology to harness their potential.
“Our methodology is embedded in the so-called Six Senses Approach to Entrepreneurship Education for children aged 7 to 14 years. It includes textbooks, workbooks, discussion books (fill in the gaps) video recordings It includes lessons, comic series, BMI fantasy games (gamification), practice manuals, and trainer manuals,” he said.
In her presentation, Henrietta Onwuegbujie, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Management at Lagos Business School, said that an entrepreneur is someone who identifies a problem, devise a solution, commercialize it and continue to improve it. It was defined as
She added that entrepreneurship is about creating value.
“If we all solve our problems, Nigeria will soon change. Ask yourself what problems you can solve,” she posited.
She lamented that most schools in Nigeria still program students to find jobs rather than create jobs.
