The Federal Government on Saturday awarded 100 million naira grants to 200 selected Nigerian youths across the country to boost their economic development potential.
The grant was disbursed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurial Education, Mr Abiola Arogundade, during the “Unlock Training” programme in Abuja.
Arogundade explained that 120 are newcomers while the remaining 80 are people who are already running businesses and need financial assistance to expand their operations.
The presentation was the culmination of a six-week campaign launched by the Presidency in which young people were asked to submit a one-minute video recording about their current skills, future plans and how they would like the government to help them achieve their goals.
In addition to the solar kiosks, participants were also provided with a certificate of completion.
Speaking to reporters after the presentation, Arogundade said the entrepreneurs were trained on components of a good business plan, money management, among others.
She said: “Today, we will be awarding grants of 500,000 naira each to 120 winners with the best business plans and we will also be giving out Honoraria to 80 people who have exceptional technical, vocational and entrepreneurship skills but need support to scale up their businesses.”
“I am here to assure you that President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is thinking of you, not only because of this programme but also the multitude of initiatives he is launching across the country to promote technical and entrepreneurial education.”
Similarly, in May 2024, Minister of Youth Development Jamila Bio Ibrahim announced plans to begin reforming and restructuring the National Youth Service Corps system.
The Minister also said about N10 million would be provided to start businesses for over 5,000 corps members and that a team would soon be inaugurated to spearhead the review, restructuring and reform.
