The Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday disclosed that over 15,000 new jobs have been created by the created by the Youth with Innnovation in Nigeria (YouWin).
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala also said that additional 80,000 new jobs are been targeted in the future.
The YouWin programme which was officially launched in April, 2012 is aimed at assisting Nigeria youths or graduate between the ages of 18 and 45 with entrepreneurial skills to set up small and medium and scale businesses (SMEs).
"The unique thing about YouWin is that you have got peer to peer relationships, you've got mentoring and you've got training on how to manage success. You are being successful and managing success is as important as trying to get out of failure. We will be with you because we want to monitor and continue to monitor how many jobs you have created. So far the first survey shows that from the first batch of 1200 you have created 15,000 jobs. And you know our target for this programme is 80,000 to 110,000 jobs. This is your first survey, In your second survey, we want you to double that" she said.
Following the success of the programme, she said, Federal Government is thinking of inculcating the programme in future budgets.
"If we can do this, it neans we can give more and more nigerians a chance in future budgets.
The reason why you have to applaud yourself is that there are people who are also given resources you know the stories in the Bible, they may not use it wisely. But what I am seeing here today is that all the enterprenuers in YouWin, despite the challenges you face, you have deployed your resources from consulting services to telecommunications services to agricultural services to catering services to fashion, to beauty services ....tourism, chemicals, machine production, manufacturing, creative arts. I see so much going on in what you have displayed and I undertake to take as many as these products to the President now.”
She further said “The cassava cake that we have here, Mr. President has to taste it and as many as these products that I can carry to Mr. President and Mr. Vice President.
“All of you started with a vision and some of you see what you are doing beyond your Small and Medium Enterprises. I want you to promise that that vision will never die. That you will pursue the vision because out of some of you assembled here we are going to grow serious business women and men in this country. You are going to employ not just dozens of people but thousands. You are going to be the bedrock of a new Nigeria.”
“This is His Excellency's programme. This programme is owned by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. We need to thank him for his support, the support of the Vice President, the support of my colleagues in the Federal Executive Council (FEC)" she stated.
Speaking at the 'Thank-you' visit to Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, the leader of the YouWin team, Mr Tunji Suleiman said that YouWin Awardees remain grateful to the Federal Government for giving them a chance to prove their potentialities.
"On behalf of my 1, 200 colleagues, I say thank you to President Goodluck Jonathan, the Federal Executive Council, and especially Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for giving us this opportunity eventhoug that we are not connected in any form to the powers that be".
He promised that the awardees are ready to create not only jobs but wealth for the nation.
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