SMEDAN EMPOWERS OVER 1000 YOUTHS IN ANAMBRA STATE.

 

  YOUTH TO BE EMPOWERED BY SEMDAN ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 FROM ODINAKA EZEOKA.

 

 As part of the struggle to eradicate unemployment in Nigeria and to encourage young people into becoming business owner Small And Medium Enterprises Development Agency Of Nigeria. (SMEDAN) have organized a sensitization program in Amawbia Anambra state on 23rd November, to empower the young people to start business of their own. Speaking at event the director general of (SMEDAN )Mr Dikko Umar heavily represented by director Policy Advocacy,and Coordination Mr Monday Ewans  express his joy for coming to Anambra State for this sensitization programme. He said that the young business owners in Nigera(Y-BON)  is designed to provide a platform where existing entrepreneurs either as standalone or cooperatives will be competitively selected for further supports. He went further to reveal that( SMEDAN )is under the ministry of industry trade and commerce saying that their function is to give loan to people running small business in order to help the federal government in creating job for the people and maintains that unemployment situation in the country has reached a crisis level.He said that statistics have shown that only one out of every hundred graduates is assured of getting job in Nigeria.  The director also disclose that basically the target beneficiaries are young people between the ages of 20-45 adding that the focus on this target is because of the need to create new opportunities for employment and enterprises growth which are usually not easily realizable in start-ups.  According to the director,this programme has been initiated to participate in Anambra and Keebi State describing it as as blessing to Ndi Anambra as he urge them to take it serious. In his opening remarks he maintained that this programme will not only produce skilled labour but will also provide jobs for the high number of graduates that annually enter the Nigerian labour market.The director disclosed that the programme has been scheduled in three stages which includes the sensitization, the training section and the empowerment of qualified people which he said that the yardstick for qualification will be on technical capacities of the promoters, available raw materials, markets, available skills,access to appropriate technologies, etc.The different cooperatives that attended the programme were given forms to fill individually which will help the SEMDAN to ascertain the individuals qualified for the empowerment.He said that the selection process will embark in two weeks time assuring the people that all the activities will end within this year.
Speaking at the event the head of department small and medium enterprise and wealth creation, Mr Obiechina Okwudili who represented the governor of Anambra State and also commissioner for commerce trade and industry  revealed that the state was chosen as a result of its success in exporting yam, vegetables which made Anambra the best in Agriculture in the six geopolitical zoine in Nigeria.

A staff of the SEMDAN Abayomi Oduenye who lectured the youth on entrepreneurship sensitization said that the objective of the programme is to help the young ones who has the idea of business.He
advised everybody to get registered to be able to qualify for granting of loan