The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says Nigeria’s young population presents a significant opportunity for economic growth.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Elsie Attafuah, made this known during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Attafuah also explained that the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship was designed to respond to gaps in Nigeria’s demographic structure and provide support through an innovation hub.
She noted that Northern Nigeria had significant potential to serve as a stronger entrepreneurship hub, with Abuja and surrounding cities, including Kaduna, Jos, Keffi, Lafia, Minna, Makurdi and Kogi, offering opportunities for entrepreneurship development.
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The UNDP representative observed that ACE would serve as a hub for entrepreneurship, innovation, digital skills, incubation and enterprise development in the country.
The centre was designed by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and is being implemented by the UNDP.
She explained that ACE would provide a dedicated ecosystem for Nigeria’s start-up community.
The UNDP stated that the choice of Abuja as Nigeria’s capital reflected the city’s position as a gateway to development partnerships and a practical investment in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, as young people and entrepreneurs continued to face barriers to skills, finance, infrastructure and technology.
Attafuah stressed that the groundbreaking represented a visible milestone in the partnership between Nigeria and Korea, particularly in sectors including FinTech, EdTech, HealthTech and AgriTech.
The centre is expected to support 500 prospective young entrepreneurs and 400 start-ups, as well as provide business support to MSMEs, she disclosed.
Also speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Jeong Yo-an, noted that KOICA had been privileged to be one of the instruments through which the friendship between the two countries was translated into tangible outcomes.
“KOICA has been privileged to be one of the instruments through which the friendship between our two countries is translated into tangible outcomes,” Yo-an said.
He explained that projects such as the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship demonstrated that diplomacy was not only conducted in meeting rooms or through formal agreements, but was also built through the schools supported, skills developed, businesses empowered and communities strengthened together.
Also at the ceremony, the Country Director of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Nigeria, Kim Eunsub, noted that the project represented further employment opportunities.
Eunsub also stated that the centre would provide a platform for knowledge exchange, entrepreneurship and cooperation between Nigeria and Korea.
ACE: Nigeria Moves From Planning To Delivery
Representing Vice President Kashim Shettima, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, commended the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship, noting that Nigeria was moving “from planning and preparation to the physical delivery” of the facility.
Hadejia stated that the centre had the potential to become an important part of Nigeria’s entrepreneurship and enterprise development ecosystem.
He acknowledged the contributions of the Government of the Republic of Korea through KOICA, the United Nations Development Programme and the Nigerian Government through the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in bringing the project to this stage.
He observed that the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship came at an important time for Nigeria.
The Vice President’s representative stressed that the country’s “young population represents one of our country’s greatest assets.”
He explained that demographic potential became an economic advantage only when young people had access to the skills, opportunities, infrastructure, finance and markets required to participate productively in the economy.
“This is at the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the Vice President said.
He maintained that the objective could not simply be to train more people, adding that pathways must be created through which skills led to jobs, jobs led to enterprise and enterprise drove economic growth.
