By Udo Akam-Alo, ABAKALIKI
The Ebonyi State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Prof Ogbonnaya Chukwu called on young persons to embrace entrepreneurship rather than searching for white-collar jobs.
He made this call on Tuesday while addressing a group of Entrepreneurs during the Flagg off ceremony of empowerment and capacity building organized for them by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Capital.
“The idea of white-collar job is not the in-thing now all over the world. These few young persons that are called should be diligent in their Businesses.
“You have chosen the right part by having something to do as a business and that is the in-thing,” said Prof Chukwu.
In his opening address, the Director General and the Chief Executive Officer of SMEDAN, Dr. Dikko Umaru represented by the Southeast Regional Coordinator, Comr. Levi Anyikwa said only Entrepreneurs with existing businesses will be accommodated in the program.
“The program is designed to provide a platform where existing either as a standard-alone entities or cooperative societies are selected for capacity enhancement, he said.
Speaking further on the empowerment programme, Mrs. Chibuzor Osuoha, Deputy Director, Enterprise Development and Promotion of SMEDAN reiterated thus; “this is a program that the Agency developed to assist Youths who are engaged in Business to secure work space; to empower Youths between the ages of 20-45 years who are engaged in business because we’ve noticed that most times, these Youths have challenges of work space.”
She went further to enumerate some of the Agency’s program for the young Entrepreneurs:
“So, the agency thought it good to come up with a program that will give them support.
“The program is in three phases one off which the sensitization where 50 Persons among you will be selected to benefit from the program;
” Next is capacity building so that the Youths will be taught on how to manage their businesses successfully because you cannot empower them and don’t give them this capacity building because this capacity building will ensure that they utilize resources or the training you are giving them;
“The last phase is work space support where those selected will be given #50,000 to assist them to get a place of transaction.”
The Coordinator of SMEDAN, Ebonyi State Chapter, Dr Thaddeus Asochukwu enjoined the participants not to take such a rare opportunity for granted.
