Follow Us on Google
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Katsina State Governor, Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, has stated that expanding entrepreneurship among young people is central to reducing the idleness and social pressures that fuel insecurity across the state.
Speaking at the fourth CEOs Round Table Summit and Exhibition in the state organised by the Initiative of Innovative Youthpreneurs Sustainable Development, the governor said creating economic opportunities for youths was as important to security as any enforcement measure.
“Entrepreneurship is about identifying problems and creating workable solutions,” Radda said, urging women and young people to develop the skills, capacity and markets needed to turn their ideas into sustainable businesses.
He cautioned that access to finance alone could not guarantee business success, stressing that entrepreneurs needed a blend of capacity, markets and funding.
“The links are capacity, market and finance,” he said, assuring entrepreneurs who meet the necessary requirements that his administration remained willing to support them, particularly women.
The governor encouraged young entrepreneurs to modernise vocational skills and traditional trades, improve their capacity and develop viable markets for their products.
Evidence of that strategy, officials said, is already visible in the state’s skills and empowerment programmes.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Aliyu Lawal Zakari Shargalle, said more than 800 young people had benefited from the Songhai training programme, receiving start-up capital and grants after completing their training.
“Another 700 young men and women are currently undergoing skills acquisition and educational training, supported with modern toolkits, financial assistance and monthly allowances,” he said.
The Commissioner for Women Affairs, Aisha Aminu Abdullahi Malumfash, said more than 4,000 women are expected to showcase their businesses at an exhibition scheduled for October 6, while 2,200 women are expected to receive grants.
She added that 1,700 Women Affinity Groups had already been formed under the Nigeria for Women Project.
The Convener of the CEOs Round Table, Lubabatu Umar Ahmed, said the initiative was established to connect entrepreneurs with ideas, opportunities and successful business leaders.
She commended the Radda administration’s support for small and medium-scale enterprises, noting that interventions through agencies and programmes, including KASEDA, Women Affairs and Girl-Child Education, had empowered 17,400 people across the state.
The enterprise drive forms part of a wider development programme the governor recently outlined to a National Economic Council Implementation Monitoring Committee delegation, which he said aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Radda cited more than nine major road projects, renovation of over 250 primary healthcare facilities, employment of more than 11,000 workers and an agricultural mechanisation centre equipped with over 400 tractors.
He also highlighted renewable energy investments, including a 10MW solar plant added to the Lambar Rimi Wind Farm, alongside solar projects supporting hospitals, schools and water facilities.
The NEC monitoring team, led by Daniel Ikara, expressed satisfaction with projects inspected across the state, particularly the agricultural mechanisation initiatives.
Radda said a stronger enterprise ecosystem, equipped young people and empowered women remained central to building a more prosperous and more secure Katsina.
