The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN ) says it has empowered no fewer than 80 persons with entrepreneurial and vocational skills, under its job creation and empowerment programme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries, during a four-day programme were trained in barbing, fashion-design, hair-dressing, catering and mobile phone repairing.
The Director-General, SMEDAN, Mr. Dikko Radda, made this known in Osogbo on Friday, saying the agency had distributed complete start-up kits to the beneficiaries to begin their various businesses.
Radda, represented by Mr. Olawale Fasanya, the Director of Policy, Planning and Research, SMEDAN, said the training was aimed at making the participants self-reliant and also be employers of labour.
He explained that the training segmented into three components of entrepreneurship, vocational skill and empowerment, would go a long way in reducing the rate of unemployment in the country.
“The training is being carried out across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory and the beneficiaries would be giving complete start-up kits.
“This alone will help reduced over dependency, joblessness and other negative vices among the unemployed.” he said.
According to him, the agency will not leave the beneficiaries alone after being empowered, but will always check on their businesses in order to monitor and evaluate their progress.
“Our team will go to monitor them to know how they are coping and after that we are going to provide post training development support to those who needs loans and other financial supports,” Fasanya said.
In his remarks, the SMEDAN State Manager, Dr Samuel Adebola, urged the beneficiaries to leverage on what has been distributed to them in order to better their lives and help reduced redundancy.
Adebola, therefore, praised the DG for the support towards achieving the core mandate of the agency, targeted at job creation and empowerment programmes. (NAN)
