By Stella Odueme
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, has urged Corps Members to explore agribusiness and commodity marketing as avenues for wealth creation and sustainable livelihoods.
Nafiu gave the charge in Abuja while presenting cheques totalling N10 million to six Corps Members who emerged winners of the Farmers for the Future Programme, an initiative of the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF) in collaboration with the NYSC.
The beneficiaries are Dominic Olufemi, who received N3 million; Temitope Adewole and Abdulwaheed Bala, N2 million each; and Olanike Mayungbe, Kingsley Udoeyen and Lorember Lorsue, who received N1 million each, the Director, Information and Public Relations, Mrs Caroline Embu, said in a statement on Monday.
The NYSC DG said the service year offered Corps Members opportunities to develop entrepreneurial skills and establish businesses that could provide sustainable sources of income.
He also stressed the importance of value addition in ensuring the growth and sustainability of businesses.
“I charge you to spread the news around. We have seen the outcome, and it is a good idea,” Nafiu said.
He commended BATNF for supporting Nigerian youths through entrepreneurship initiatives focused on value-chain development, employment creation and its partnership with the NYSC.
Speaking on the selection process, the Acting Director, Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED), Mrs Winifred Shopeka, said nearly 3,000 Corps Members applied for the programme through an online registration portal.
She said applicants were subjected to a rigorous selection process, which produced 20 finalists who proceeded to a boot camp and subsequently participated in a final pitching session.
According to her, the pitching session produced the 10 best presenters, from whom the six ultimate beneficiaries were selected.
Shopeka disclosed that the six winners had been mentored and attached to established market operators to support the marketing of their products.
She added that Corps Members who did not reach the final stage were also trained by BATNF as part of efforts to broaden the impact of the programme.
The Team Lead, BATNF, Mr Oludare Odusanya, congratulated the beneficiaries and encouraged Corps Members involved in agribusiness to acquire the knowledge and skills required to build successful ventures.
“We are happy with our collaboration with the NYSC, and it will continue,” he said.
Odusanya explained that BATNF is an independent organisation established to contribute to poverty reduction in Nigeria through sustainable agricultural practices and other interventions.
He said the Farmers for the Future Programme was established in partnership with the NYSC to encourage Corps Members to venture into agribusiness and become job creators.
He added that beneficiaries would continue to receive mentorship and guidance to help them succeed in their respective businesses.