BOI and NYSC jointly launch N2 billion enterpreneurial fund

The Managing Director of Bank of Industry BOI, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa confirmed that the Bank has established a N2 billion enterpreneurial fund for members of the National Youth Service Corps whih was jointly launched by the Bank and the NYSC on Monday.Olaoluwa noted that judging by the National Bureau of Statistics’ data that of the over 250,000 graduates that enrolled in the NYSC scheme each year, over 41 per cent were without employment after the mandatory programme, because job creation had not kept pace with the growth in the country’s working population.

The SAED, a capacity building programme, was introduced in March 2012 by the NYSC as part of its orientation course content with the aim of raising an army of entrepreneurs that will drive the economy instead of job seekers trudging the streets in search of jobs.

Olaluwa noted, however, that corps members were usually deprived of the full benefits of the programme because they often engaged in numerous other activities during the orientation programme.

According to him, this also inhibits their ability to generate bankable business plans that can attract funding by financial institutions.

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The BoI MD commended the NYSC Directorate for promoting an entrepreneurial mind set among the members through its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development initiative.