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Benjamin Babine, Abuja
The management of Skill Power Academy has doled out N5 million in support of budding entrepreneurs in Nigeria wishing to cement their businesses.
The Lead Strategist of the academy, Mr Ekemini Udo who made the revelation at a recent event tagged ‘The Funding Conference’ held in Abuja, said the gesture will be sustained as the academy seeks to empower as many entrepreneurs as possible.
The conference which had lectures from different business leaders provided practical knowledge to young entrepreneurs in attendance and also provided grants for entrepreneurs with great ideas and businesses. It also featured a one-on-one session between entrepreneurs and various investors.
Ekemini said: “There is a lot we are doing which is channeled into helping people grab more wealth creation skills. We giving up to five million naira in grants. We are simply passionate about how we can build a more skillful and more powerful economy in Nigeria.
“In trying to do that, we believe that it is the people who build the nation. So, if we must build the nation we must build the people. If we want to lift Nigeria and not give other parts of the world a basis to address Nigeria as the Headquarters of poverty, then we have to build the people,” he said.
On the people eligible to apply for the grants, he said, “What we are concerned about is people who have credible ideas, people who have skills that can be converted into profit. I trust that to do that you should be within the age range of 18 and 40 because after 40, you are probably too tired to want to start a business. A lot of youths turned out today but it is not exclusively only for the youths. If you have a good and credible idea or a skill that can be funded to bring profit, then you are eligible. Applicants can register on our website”.
Stressing the importance of funding in entrepreneurship, he said, “No matter how beautiful your dreams and ideas are, without funding they cannot become reality. So that is why we had the Funding Conference as a way of unveiling this plan. We have a lot of partners among whom are Honey Peace Investment Limited, Skill Port Multinational and many others.
“The Funding Conference as the name implies is a platform where skillful and passionate Nigerians can be assisted and funded to drive their dreams because there is a bridge between your dreams and reality and that bridge is funding”, the Mr Prince said.
In her remarks, the Local Content Manager for 50 million African Women Speak Platform (50MAWS), Mrs Ajibike Saratu Oluwatimileyin expressed her support for initiative. She said: “I am fully in support of the initiative because the whole essence of the 50 Million African Women Speak Platform is how to get women to be empowered, connected and networked and this is the whole essence of The Funding Conference. The Funding Conference is about empowering people, today for example a young lady who processes Nigerian Rice was empowered with the sum of N100 million.”
