As part of efforts to aid the creation of wealth and
redistribution of income through entrepreneurship, the Lagos Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has commenced its mentoring programme for 2015.
With 50 young entrepreneurs selected for this year’s industry
mentoring programme, the chamber noted that it remains committed to capacity
building for Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.
In 2014, the chamber mentored 25 young entrepreneurs under its
corporate social responsibility programme.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme in Lagos,
recently, LCCI President, Remi Bello, restated the group’s commitment to
building capacity through entrepreneurship mentoring, noting that it was a
means of investing in the future of youths.
Bello, who was represented by the vice-president, Gabriel Idahosa
said, “Mentoring is an informal method of education which enables high impact
and quick connections to be made across enterprises. These connections
transcend location, vocation and generations, enabling individuals to
brainstorm, innovate, create and develop breakthrough ideas on how to improve
their business processes as well as solve problems facing their businesses.
“For us at the LCCI, focusing this developmental initiative on the
youth is a means of investing in their future thereby guaranteeing better
tomorrow for our country.”
On his part, the chamber’s Director-General, Muda Yusuf, stressed
the need for young people to embrace enterprise, noting that the only way to
create jobs, redistribute income and make lives better was to promote
enterprise.
He said, “This economy is a very big economy, you have a
population of 170 million people. That is a very big market. So there is a
whole lot that can be done in the enterprise space to take advantage of this
economy.”
He added that a lot of people sought to come to Nigeria from
China, Malaysia and other countries to take advantage of the numerous
opportunities that the Nigerian economy offers as the largest economy in the
continent.
“What that tells you is that there are a lot of opportunities.
What we are doing today is part of the process of encouraging you to take
advantage of the opportunities that this economy presents,” he said.
In her keynote address, the Chairman, Board of Business Education
Services and Training, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, said the body was preparing
young entrepreneurs for the business world through six months of personal
development and business management training.
Mabogunje who was represented by a member of the Board, Wole Ogunjobi
said, “We are preparing them for the business world, thereby enabling them to
ride on the waves and challenges in the environment in their quest for
success.”
She added that one of the unit’s partners in the 2014 programme,
Kudirat Initiative for Democracy had a programme known as ‘Youth Trade’ which
addresses access to markets for the goods and services of young entrepreneurs.
The group stated that the increase in the number of young
entrepreneurs selected for the training this year was made possible by
Accenture, the consultancy firm which funded the programme as part of its
social responsibility initiative tagged ‘skills to succeed’.
Accenture’s representative, Segun Olalanwo explained that the
firm’s social responsibility initiative has a target to train at least one
million entrepreneurs by 2020.
-The Guardian
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