A Non-Governmental Organisation, Hope Builders Skill Development and Acquisition Foundation, says it has trained  over 350 youths and Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in creating and starting business opportunities in the country.
Mrs Folayemisi Adu, its Executive Director, said this in Lagos on Monday at the graduation and exhibition ceremony of its “Create and Start Module’’ trainees.
Adu said that they were able to train many of the participants within six months, which resulted to great testimonies; as some of the businesses had started operating.
The National Daily reports that the training was co-organised, in collaboration with GIZ (German Cooperation Deutsche Zusammenarbeit), an international donor agency and the Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment-SEDIN Programme and implemented by GOPA Worldwide Consultants.
She said that some of the trainees got investors, investing in their business ideas; and grants of N20,000 each was given to 10 participants after affirming their business ideas.
“We taught them how to create and start modules which integrate capacity development at the individual, organisational and societal levels.
“Created modules provide entrepreneurship knowledge to help participants develop a concrete business idea, while start module provides business start-up support, including registering a business and developing a viable and bankable business plan,” Adu said.
According to her, the training gave us structural records on how we could save and get more investors.
“We are expecting the participants to get into business world and make use of what they were taught.
“The participants should also keep getting more trainings on their business ideas in order to improve on their skills,” she said.
In his remarks, Mr Peik Bruhns, Team Leader of GOPA Worldwide Consultants, a Consulting firm, said the project had made them touched one third of people in Lagos and Edo States.
Bruhns said they were also able to touch many livelihoods by training them on building capacity, to grow economic involvement and entrepreneurial acumen.
“Sometime we think Nigeria only offers entertainment or fashion but today we are witnessing how diverse entrepreneurial economic activities are involved in building Nigeria.
“We are contributing to a community which wants to see this nation grow from strength to strength,” he said.
Bruhns advised the trainees to remain focused on their business ideas and opportunities because every idea was worth developing.
Mr Tola Oni, Panelist of the project, said he discovered that Nigerian youths had innovative and dynamic ideas to offer in the country, if well coordinated.
Oni, also the Head of Funding and Sustainability, Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), a leadership institute in Nigeria, said Nigerian youths had so much entrepreneurial energy built in them if explored.
“The impact of this project is tremendous because it is a way of contributing to development of Nigeria economically.
“This training has emerged an army of young entrepreneurs who are going to bring positive transformation to Nigeria, ” he said.