NEF, NYCC partner on entrepreneurship devt

The Nigeria Entrepreneurs Forum, NEF has expressed its willingness to partner the Nigeria Youth Chamber of Commerce, NYCC, with a view to developing the nation’s youths in entrepreneurship.
NEF President, Dr Sidney Inegbedion, who expressed this weekend while receiving the Founder/National President of NYCC, Mr. Peter Ayim in Abuja, noted that preparing the youths for entrepreneurship engagements through capacity building would further enhance the sustainable economic growth and development of the nation.
Inegbedion added that collaborating with NYCC will, no doubt, enhance youths’ innovation in technology and creative arts, as well as promoting job opportunities and wealth creation in the society.
He pointed out that only 10 of every six million youth graduate in the country are able to secure jobs, lamenting that the rising rate of unemployment among the youths has further fuelled the level of crime in the country.
Inegbedion maintained that entrepreneurship could be used to curb crime in the society, stressing that crime planned and executed by the educated elements in any society could be worse.
“In Nigeria Entrepreneurs Forum, we recognise that, in the past, the mistake made by our leaderswas to emphasise on education, education for job. They refused to create opportunities and businesses, but today for every 6 million youths out there, only one million are able to get jobs. What does this mean? It means that there is serious problem ahead.
“If we do not start creating job opportunities and encouraging entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, it means that in the next few years, not far from now, we are facing serious anarchy, because the level of crime then is not just going to be the regular type, is going to be the crime of educated people, which will be more sophisticated”, he stressed.
Inegbedion, however, disclosed that NEF is already working with some tertiary institutions in the country for the establishment of entrepreneurship clubs among the students, stating that the Bayelsa State chapter of NEF has started training National Youth Service Corps, NYSC members on entrepreneurship.
He said the activities of NEF are regulated by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, while the National Economic Reconstruction Fund, NERFUND serves as its development partners.
Earlier, the NYCC President, Ayim said the chamber has developed a model that will enable it intervene in promoting functional youth entrepreneurship in the country.
“We have also developed a model and we believe in it; because of the practical nature of the model, we should be able to do strategic intervention in promoting functional youth enterprises. With that model or if we are able to apply the model, it will create enabling environment for youth entrepreneurship.
“The youth sector is grossly informal and largely unorganized. That is why most interventions in terms of grants that are directed at promoting functional youth entrepreneurship have failed to achieve the desirable impacts, because of the diverse nature of the sector.
“By the introduction of MSM import in Nigeria, the youths fall under the category of micro entrepreneurship, which is not well defined. So, we became concerned and we felt that there is need for us to do something by initiating global best practice in promoting entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.
“We felt that there is the need for us to have a forum that would serve as the voice of the youth entrepreneurs in Nigeria. In that way, we can advocate for policies that will be able to impact positively on the youth micro entrepreneurship. And so, we came up with the Nigeria Youth Chamber of Commerce”, he said.
Explaining the challenges associated with youth entrepreneurship, Ayim listed, among others, lack of business plan, decent work space, finance, market-oriented business development services and financial credibility to approach banks, on their own to source for funds, adding that the micro-enterprise model, which he described as ‘win-win model’, will address the numerous challenges faced by youth entrepreneurs in the country.