The programme, held in Abuja with the theme,
‘Sustainable Enterprise and Economic Development Programme for All,’ drew
facilitators from the Industrial Training Fund, Nigeria Export Promotion
Council, National Poverty Alleviation Programme, Enterprise Agency, Nigeria
Association of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and Bank of Industry.
On the significance of the programme, the
Managing Director/CEO of RLEI, Ms. Toun Omisore-Davidson, said it was targeted
at the youth with a view to taking them off the streets through an intensive
training that would help them to discover their talents and put them to
creative and profitable ventures.
Omisore-Davidson, who stated that the group had
held similar capacity programmes in other parts of the country, declared that
the NGO was formed to partner with related government agencies to empower the
vulnerable groups in the society.
She said, “Our group is an NGO that
empowers people economically; we are into economic advocacy and empowerment.
There is a lot of unemployment, a lot of poverty and a lot of corps members
being churned out to a no-job situation and we want to do our part, assist the
government in providing work and sustainable businesses for these people.”
According to her, the group has a designated desk
that helps to identify participants with similar businesses with a view to
helping them come together to access loans for either start-ups.
She said while efforts were on to partner some
commercial banks, the NGO was already working with some microfinance banks such
as Kwali Micro Finance Bank and BFL Micro Finance Bank.
Also at the business empowerment seminar,
the Divisional Pastor, Christ Gospel Mission, Abuja, Mrs.Olubukunola Ogunkanmi,
noted that the programme was timely as it would help a good number of youths to
discover their talents and put them to use instead of waiting for white-collar
jobs that were not available.
“The two-day capacity development programme has
really been awesome; I believe this will help anyone who has a heart to have a
source of livelihood without necessarily depending on the government. While
government employment is good, it cannot go round, we need to empower the youth
and spin up the creative potential in them, not only to be able to fend for
themselves, but also to serve as a source of gift to the society and humanity
at large,” she added.
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