The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has empowered three National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving with the organization with the cheques of Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) each.
The cheques were presented to them during an event initiated by the AMCON at its maiden edition of entrepreneurship and empowerment programme for Corps Members serving with them.
At the end of the programme, three out of the fifteen contestants came out tops and were presented cheques of Five Hundred Thousand Naira each at a ceremony held at the AMCON’s office in Abuja.
The programme, which was tagged the “Managing Director’s Annual NYSC Entrepreneurship Competition”, involves business plan contest among Corps Members serving in the organization.
The beneficiaries were Joanna Jewel Adamu (FC/21A/1265), Umar Aliyu Gosta (FC/21A/1251) and Abdulsamad Saidu Usman (FC/21A/1046) whose proposals centered on online art and fashion business; poultry production; and technological innovation respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director of AMCON, Alhaji Ahmed Lawan Kuru, noted the high rate of graduate unemployment, and the need for stakeholders to work towards steering the mindset of the youths from that of seeking white collar jobs to that of entrepreneurial engagement.
The Managing Director, who lauded the various empowerment programmes of the Federal Government, particularly added his voice to the advocacy for the incorporation of functional entrepreneurship training into the nation’s education curriculum.
He said that AMCON initiated the entrepreneurship programme for Corps Members in appreciation of the invaluable contributions of the NYSC to national development.
Kuru said that the intervention began with the conduct of Entrepreneurship training for the Corps Members with some members of Staff of the organization volunteering as resource persons.
The Managing Director further explained that the introduction of the business plan contest was aimed at providing funds to enable the winners actualize their business dreams and, in the process, contribute to the economic development of the country.
He further stated that aside the winners, many of the other competitors came up with excellent business ideas, adding that the latter group will also be supported with some tokens.
The Managing Director expressed determination not only to sustain the programme, but also increase the number of winners in subsequent editions.
Kuru used the occasion to assure of AMCON’s readiness to go into broader partnership with the NYSC in the area of entrepreneurship and empowerment.
Established in 1973, the NYSC scheme was created in a bid to reconstruct, reconcile and rebuild the country after the Nigerian Civil war. It was established “with a view to the proper encouragement and development of common ties among the youths of Nigeria and the promotion of national unity”.
Part of its vision is to ensure Nigerian youths acquire the spirit of self-reliance, a reliable source of economic empowerment and effective participation in nation-building.
In his address, the NYSC Director-General, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, said that the Scheme had been assiduous in the implementation of its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme (SAED), adding that many ex-trainees of the programme were now owners of flourishing businesses.
He added that Corps Members had enormous potentials for self-employment, but the challenge was always that of access to fund to actualize their business plans.
The Director-General said this informed the proposal for the establishment of NYSC Trust Fund, which would not only make the SAED training more functional, but also serve as sustainable source of funding for the Corps entrepreneurs.
Ibrahim thanked the AMCON Management for joining the leagues of partners supporting the NYSC in the empowerment of Corps members and assured that the Scheme would effectively partner with the agency for the continued success of the new initiative.
“The Scheme would strictly monitor the beneficiaries of the programme and provide feedback to AMCON on their business progress,” he reassured.
The Director-General congratulated the winners of the competition and enjoined them to make judicious use of the funds given to them.
Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, one of the winners, Joana Jewel Adamu, thanked AMCON for availing them of the opportunity for empowerment, which she described as life-changing.
She assured that they would justify the confidence reposed in them through judicious use of the funds.
Amaka E. Nliam
