Infotech Centre Harps on Youth Entrepreneurship
By Eileen Ihenmadu.
The Centre for Information Technology and Development(CITAD), on Tuesday held a business facilitation clinic themed “ Creating space for the development of young entrepreneursâ€.
The clinic was in partnership with Action Aid Nigeria. The program was aimed to offer a face to face engagement with key government agencies, stakeholders and accomplished young entrepreneurs.
The Executive Director of Centre for Information Technology and Development, Mr. Y Z. Yau, in his remark said the business facilitation clinic seeks to empower young innovators through networking, skills building, mentoring, and access to financing to develop startup solutions that address their economic and development challenges.
“The idea behind this business clinic is to continually support digital rural startups in Nigeria in the area of providing education, training and information that will enhance their business management skills.
“CITAD and Action Aid Nigeria considers young people in the rural communities as central to economic and social advancement through sustained inclusive growth. Part of investing in the future youth to give them the tools to drive inclusive economic growth, social justice and ending poverty in the long runâ€.
The Executive Director CITAD in partnership with Action Aid Nigeria decided that this year’s event should coincide with the International Youth Day 2018 theme “Safe Spaces for Youths†because the event will facilitate a dialogue on safe spaces between governments, UN agencies,academia, civil society, and most importantly youth groups. With the goal of offering practical solutions to the challenges of creating youth-friendly spaces.
Mr Y.Z. Yau, disclosed that CITAD with the support of Action Aid Nigeria established five modern ICT centres in fifteen communities under the four selected area councils. The programme was under the project on “Digitalisation for Equitable Development in establishment of ICT centres in FCT-Abujaâ€, which ensured that two hundred and ten youths received training in digital skills, digital entrepreneurship skills, business management skills and business support clinic which held yesterday.
The representative of the Minister in the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mr Hamid M. Nagogo, said the Minister is really impressed with the initiative which seeks to empower youths, he also lauded the project by saying youths have a role to play in the world today.
He advised youths not to see capital as the major problem but look around for what is in need thereby trying to create it. He also encouraged youths to think of ways to develop themselves.
The Executive Director of CITAD, said that by saying the world’s young people who make up the largest generation in history can lead to a global drive to break the patterns of the past and set the world
On course for a more sustainable future adding that young people are traditionally at the cutting edge and today have more information than any previous generation.