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1,500 Youth Get N2.5bn CBN Entrepreneurship Loan

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10 years ago

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The Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) on Thursday in Abuja flagged off the pilot phase of the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP) aimed at empowering 1,500 youths with a total of N2.5 billion loan.
The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele in his remarks said that the inability of Nigerian youths to access funding for businesses had been the bane of entrepreneurship.
Emefiele said that entrepreneurship among Nigerian youths had been hindered by low capacity and funding which has made many of them opt for white collar jobs which are not even available.
“ These challenges have continually made many youths to jettison their laudable ideas in pursuit of white collar jobs.
“Their inability to access funding has been the bane of developing the ideas of many educated and enterprising youths in Nigeria.’’
He said that the programme would address the problem of high and rising youth unemployment and restiveness.
While stressing that it was a loan that would be paid back and not a grant, he said that the single digit interest rate of the loan was to allow the youths to grow their businesses without much ado.
He admonished the beneficiaries to be of good character by repaying the loan when due as the success of the scheme depends solely on this first phase.
“We do not anticipate that they would not pay, we have as collateral their NYSC and Degree certificates and we know that our youths know the importance of their certificates.
“I do not think that somebody who has gone to the higher institution for those number of years to gain gainful employment for a gainful life will abandon those certificates because he wants to collect loan and not pay back.
“As far as I’m concerned I have not looked at the equation of them not re-paying so I want to enjoin everybody who accessed this loan to please pay.’’
The YEDP is aimed at harnessing the latent entrepreneurial spirit among the teeming youths by providing timely and affordable loans to implement their business ideas.
It is also serving as a training sponsored by the CBN for National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) members in collaboration with Heritage Bank.
It targets youths between the age of 18 and 35 to create one million direct jobs in the productive sectors of the economy within four years.
Some of the qualified business sectors are agro-allied, food processing and preservation, arts and crafts, construction support and Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The Director General, NYSC , Brig.-Gen. Sule Kazaure said that the programme was a milestone for the NYSC because it was in line with the its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme.
He said under the SAED scheme, over 600,000 corps members had been trained in various entrepreneurship programmes but lacked funding to establish their own businesses.
He urged the corps members to take the programme seriously saying their future and the nation’s may depend on it.
“I urge all corps members, irrespective of their course disciplines, to key into the opportunities provided by these collaborations and become budding entrepreneurs through skill acquisition, self employment, wealth creation and employment generation.’’
The Managing Director, Heritage Bank, Mr Ifie Sekibo, told the youths that their success was important as it might mean that a path to creating a society that is worth our while was being charted.
He urged them to exhibit a flawless character and be tenacious in the pursuit of their goals.
“The spirit of entrepreneurship is not just in word but in the character you exhibit and the tenacity you bring to bear, the ability to follow your dreams despite the challenges.
“ If you don’t bring your character to the table this experiment will not succeed. A tenacious spirit, a never say die spirit, a can do spirit.’’
Mr Success Obi, one of the applicants who spoke on behalf of others, thanked the three organisations for providing such employment opportunity for the teeming Nigerian youths.
He assured that if granted the loan they would do their best to create employment opportunity for themselves  and fellow youth and pay back the loan when st

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Association Woos Govt, Coys On  Boat Operators  Employments

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2 weeks ago

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June 12, 2026

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The leadership of Bonny Maritime Boat Association has called on Rivers state Government and oil companies operating in the state to provide sustainable employment to unemployed boat Operators.
The Association also want the government, companies and other relevant employers of labour to provide trainings for boat Operators to enhance their skills
Safety Officer of the Association, Comrade Kingdom Kingsley made this known in  a  telephone interview with  The Tide.
He noted that most of the boat Operators and owners plying Bonny route lacks jobs due to the fleets of boats introduced by Bonny Road Transport that had taken over the passengers to the Island
He noted that passengers are no longer patronizing boats owned by the Association, thereby rendering the operators redundant
“Most of our operators can not afford to feed their families due to no jobs, we don’t want to indulge in crime, government should fix our members with  sustainable jobs to take care of their immediate needs”
He called on oil companies operating in the state to engage their skilled boat Operators in their companies to reduce the sufferings faced by the Association.
The Safety Officer called on the state government  to made funds available to unemployed youths in the state to start up business than roam the streets.
He noted that provision of funds to youths would reduce crime rates and reposition their mindsets for a better life
“The  youths of Rivers state are suffering, have no job to feed their families, thereby indulging in criminality daily”
“The youths need empowerment,  jobs,  recreational facilities and better things of life as citizens of this Nation”, Kingsley said.
CHINEDU WOSU
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FG Approves $1 Bn AFCFTA Credit Facility For Nigerian Exporters

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2 weeks ago

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June 12, 2026

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The Federal Government has approved a whooping $1bn credit facility to support Nigerian exporters and small scale businesses to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in order to boost production, competitiveness and intra-African trade.
The $1bn AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility is also expected to address some of the financing gap being faced by Nigerian exporters and enhance the competitiveness of African businesses within the continental market.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, disclosed this  during the second quarter 2026 meeting of the AfCFTA Central Coordination Committee held in Abuja.
According to a statement issued by the ministry’s Head of Press and Public Relations, Obilor-Duru Okechi, Oduwole said the financing facility represented a major opportunity for Nigerian businesses seeking to expand operations, modernise production processes and increase exports to African markets.
The statement partly read, “?The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerating Nigeria’s export-led growth agenda under the African Continental Free Trade Area, unveiling opportunities for businesses to access a US$1 billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility aimed at boosting production, competitiveness, and intra-African trade.”
She noted that despite the progress Nigeria had made in implementing the continental trade agreement, many local businesses continued to face obstacles that limited their ability to take advantage of the single African market.
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“Many businesses still face challenges relating to export documentation, certification, standards compliance and market access,” the minister said.
She explained that the Federal Government was addressing these bottlenecks through enhanced trade facilitation measures, simplified AfCFTA guidance tools, stakeholder engagement programmes and stronger collaboration with institutions such as the Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigerian Export Promotion Council.
Oduwole stressed the need to strengthen Nigeria’s legal and regulatory framework by domesticating key AfCFTA protocols, particularly the Digital Trade Protocol, to position the country as a major player in Africa’s growing digital economy.
The minister also highlighted some of the gains recorded in Nigeria’s AfCFTA implementation efforts.
According to her, the expansion of Nigeria’s Air Cargo Corridor Initiative to Rwanda, increased collaboration with development partners and private sector players, as well as sustained engagement with state governments, were helping to deepen awareness and participation in the continental market.
In her welcome address and first-quarter update, the National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria AfCFTA Coordination Office, Mrs Patience Okala, provided details of the financing initiative.
Okala said the $1bn AfCFTA Adjustment Fund Credit Facility was targeted at large African businesses with a minimum financing capacity of $10m.
She revealed that the National AfCFTA Coordination Office was working closely with fund managers to facilitate access for eligible Nigerian companies and had begun assembling a pilot group of businesses to ensure that Nigeria maximised the opportunities provided by the facility.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NIWA Harps On  Avoidance Of Leaking Boats

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2 weeks ago

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June 12, 2026

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The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has advised Nigerians against boarding boats that require constant bailing of water in the interest of their safety.
 NIWA Area Manager for Cross River and Ebonyi, Mr Stanley Onuoha gave this warning in an interview with Newsmen in Calabar.
Onuoha who spoke on waterway
safety, said that passengers should take responsibility for their safety by inspecting boats before embarking on any journey.
According to him, repeated scooping of water from a boat is a clear indication that the vessel may be leaking.
“If you are entering a boat and see people using a bailer to remove water, it is the first signal that the boat is leaking,” he said.
He urged passengers to check the integrity of boats, including seating arrangements and other visible safety features.
The Manager restated the importance of using safety jackets, saying that damaged jackets may fail during emergencies.
He further said that passengers should ensure that safety jackets were appropriate for their body sizes in order to guarantee effective flotation.
 Onuoha reiterated the need for passengers to fill manifests before departure to aid accountability during emergencies.
The NIWA official further advised travellers to monitor weather conditions and avoid boarding boats when the weather is unfavourable.
According to him, poor weather conditions can trigger strong tidal waves capable of affecting small boats commonly used on inland waterways.
He said that waterway journeys should be embarked upon between 6.00a.m and 6.00p.m for clearer visibility.
Onuoha said  the Authority had continued to sensitise riverine communities to the need for safety precautions during waterway journeys.
He stated that sustained awareness campaigns and enforcement measures had contributed to safety waterway safety in Cross River.
CHINEDU WOSU
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