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The Federal Government has announced plans to empower at least 5,000 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) with N10 million each to fund their entrepreneurial ventures after they complete the NYSC scheme.
Dr. Jamila Ibrahim, the Minister of Youth Development, disclosed this during the opening ceremony of the inaugural meeting of the NYSC management with heads of Corps Producing Institutions (CPI) in Nigeria, held on Monday in Abuja.
In her words, “Permit me to inform us very briefly on what is to come regarding NYSC reforms. I’m pleased to announce that I will be inaugurating a team to undertake the review, restructuring, and reforms of the NYSC. The first of these reforms will be centered on reviewing participants with an entrepreneurship mindset and making skills development a core of the programme.
“We envision a future where the NYSC programmes are not only self-sustained but also a revenue generating programme within the next five years. And to achieve this, we will institutionalise the NYSC ventures as an investment and asset management outfit.
“Furthermore, as part of the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund programme for 2024, I’m also pleased to announce that at least 5000 corps members will have their entrepreneurial ventures funded with up to N10 million passing out,” she added.
She noted that this funding initiative aligns with the upcoming NYSC reforms and is distinct from the Nigerian Youth Investment Fund program set for 2024.
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The minister also explained that this initiative would allow the Federal Government to effectively utilize and manage the extensive assets of the NYSC, making strategic investments across various sectors.
She highlighted the targeted sectors for these investments as agriculture, manufacturing, garment making, communication, and digital banking.
She emphasized that this effort reflects the current administration’s commitment to investing in youth-led entrepreneurial ventures, positioning it as a crucial step towards involving young people in Nigeria’s progress towards becoming a trillion-dollar economy.
“The National Youth Skills programme will play a pivotal role in these reforms. While typically a 12-month programme this year, we’ll start a six-month abridged version.
“We expect the ventures funded to emerge from this programme in various strategic sectors driving innovation and economic growth,” she added.
Ibrahim therefore urged the participants, as the custodians of higher education in Nigeria, to bear the profound responsibility of nurturing the intellectual, moral, and civic capacity of the nation’s youth.
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