FG to offer needed skills, credit facilities‎ to would-be entrepreneurs in 30 incubation centres

Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology, ‎has pledged that the Federal Government is considering modalities of supporting would-be entrepreneurs in all 30 national incubation centres across Nigeria with required skills and credit facilities.

As science and technology-based ideas and innovations would extricate Nigeria from current financial crisis, Onu said.

Onu, who spoke shortly after he inspected products of entrepreneurs trained at Technology Incubation Centre in Abeokuta recently, said science and technology should be basis at which genuine ‎ideas, skills and innovations to create and add value to the country, through the production of essential goods with a view to drastically reduce imports of such products, create wealth and generate jobs.

He said the Federal Government was determined to explore the mineral and materials resources with the aiding of technology, with a view to providing needed raw materials for varied locally made goods and services, which will in turn create jobs for her people.

The ministry would establish more TICs across the country and support would-be students to be independent and employers of labour, he said.

“I am very happy, I’ve talked to the entrepreneurs, seen their products and how it is being done here. We as a nation, we have a price to pay. In the past, we did not pay attention to science and technology but things have changed because the president, Muhammadu Buhari has committed sufficient attention to science and technology.

“Once we explore the benefits of science and technology, we will unlock the great potentials in the nation. We have abundant minerals and material resources in the country but if don’t explore them in their native state, the revenue you will realise is very little and we won’t be able to create jobs by doing so.

“Once we explore with science and technology, you will be able to process these raw materials, you will be able to convert them to what people need and the basic needs the nation requires.

“We have about 30 of this (TIC) in the country, and we are interested in making every state have at least one centre and it is important because you can see the quality of people who are coming to become entrepreneurs, to learn and improve their skills; former deputy-governor, former colonel in the army, a former bank manager and young people.”

Also speaking, Mohammed Jibril, director-general, National Board for Technology Incubation, said the board was using science and technology not only to inculcate required skills needed to be productive, but to also teach the entrepreneurs on patents, quality control and branding of the locally-produced goods, saying the move was to promote research and technology to accelerate development.

But, Olu Adeola, president, Entrepreneurs Incubation ‎Association of Nigeria, said: “We are appealing to the Federal Government to create seed capital for our people to finance our ideas. You can see that we are even producing boots, belts and uniforms for the military, para-military and other categories of the armed forces.

“We produce food items that feed the military and para-military in foreign missions instead of importing such materials. If government supports us and patronise our products, lots of wealth will be created and jobs generated for young Nigerians too.”