A total of 310 youths, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, on Thursday received N930m from the Central Bank of Nigeria to establish profitable ventures in different sectors of the economy.
Each of the youth, who emerged through a rigorous competitive process, received N3m under the Youth Entrepreneurial Development Programme. The first set of the loans was disbursed through Heritage Bank.
Speaking at the disbursement ceremony, the Governor, CBN, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said the YEDP was introduced in March 2016 by the apex bank as part of efforts to reduce the nation’s unemployment rate, which had increased to 13.3 per cent in the second quarter.
Emefiele, who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Alhaji Suleiman Barau, said the programme was to ensure that the creative energies of the over 64 million Nigerian youths were harnessed to stimulate growth, address restiveness and promote economic development.
He said, “To realise this objective, the bank, in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps and Heritage Bank, began the pilot seven months ago to inspire and harvest the entrepreneurial abilities of Nigerian youths towards creating over one million direct jobs by 2020.
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