The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, has urged Corps Members to maximise the opportunities provided by the service year by venturing into agribusiness, commodity marketing and other viable enterprises.
Nafiu said agribusiness remained a viable avenue for young Nigerians to build sustainable businesses, create employment and generate wealth.
He spoke in Abuja during the presentation of cheques to six Corps Members who emerged winners of the Farmers for the Future Programme, organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) in collaboration with the NYSC.
The beneficiaries received grants ranging from N1 million to N3 million.
They are Dominic Olufemi (FC/25C/1143), N3 million; Temitope Adewole (ED/26A/2251), N2 million; Abdulwaheed Bala (ED/25B/1402), N2 million; Olanike Mayungbe (OG/26B/1037), N1 million; Kingsley Udoeyen (KG/26A/1735), N1 million; and Lorember Lorsue (JG/25B/1742), N1 million.
The NYSC DG commended BATNF for placing Nigerian youths at the centre of its entrepreneurship initiatives through value-chain development, employment creation and its partnership with the NYSC.
While congratulating the beneficiaries, Nafiu emphasised the importance of value addition to the success and sustainability of businesses.
“I charge you to spread the news around. We have seen the outcome, and it is a good idea,” he said.
The Acting Director, Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), Mrs Winifred Shopeka, said the programme began with an online registration portal through which Corps Members engaged in agribusiness submitted their business plans.
She said nearly 3,000 Corps Members applied for the programme and underwent a rigorous selection process that produced 20 finalists.
According to her, the finalists participated in a boot camp and subsequently made presentations at a final pitching session, which produced the 10 best presenters, from whom the six winners were selected.
Shopeka said the six beneficiaries had been mentored and attached to established market operators to support the marketing of their products.
She added that Corps Members who did not make it to the final stage were also trained by BATNF.
The BATNF Team Lead, Mr Oludare Odusanya, congratulated the beneficiaries and urged Corps Members in agribusiness to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to succeed.
“We are happy with our collaboration with the NYSC, and it will continue,” he said.
Odusanya said BATNF was established to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria, particularly through sustainable agricultural practices and other interventions.
He explained that the Farmers for the Future Programme was introduced in collaboration with the NYSC to encourage Corps Members to embrace agribusiness and become job creators.
He added that the beneficiaries would be attached to mentors who would guide them in developing their businesses, noting that the programme had continued to strengthen the entrepreneurial capacity of Corps Members since its inception.
