YBLN to groom 20 young entrepreneurs  

The Young Business Leaders of Nigeria (YBLN) is set to empower 20 young entrepreneurs with business leadership skills, while making them see the need for selfless service to humanity.

YBLN is a leadership training scheme designed to groom budding entrepreneurs across Nigeria with the aim of giving back to the community and helping to reduce the rate of unemployment in Nigeria.

The entrepreneurs trained will in turn help other young entrepreneurs in Nigeria to develop and grow their own businesses. YBLN is funded by the United States (US) Consulate General, Lagos, in line with President Obama’s wish of growing a new generation of young leaders across Africa that will give back to their communities.

Speaking on the role of the US government in sponsoring the programme, Frank Sellin, deputy public affairs officer, US Consulate General, Lagos, said the US government through the Mandela Washington Fellowship trains about 1000 young people across Africa yearly.

According to Sellin, the programme became Mandela Washington fellowship in 2014, stating that at the start in 2014, about 500 fellows from across sub-Saharan Africa were selected and taken to the United States for a six-week training on education and leadership with particular focus on entrepreneurship and project management.

They were expected to come back to their various countries and operate either as entrepreneur, NGOs or work in government.

The beauty of the YBLN programme, according to Oye Jolaoso, project coordinator, YBLN, is that it helps to grow leaders who are expected to mentor others towards taking up leadership roles in their communities as young entrepreneurs. “The programme is to make young people positively impact their community by sharing ideas and developing others” Jolaoso said.

Speaking further on the programme, Oye said YBLN beneficiaries are expected to interact with business leaders and top executives in companies and organisations at the end of their six-week training, adding that the programme will facilitate different platforms for the beneficiaries to grow by creating the opportunity for them to network and create resources by meeting people on their own, thereby making the best of the opportunities created.

According to Oye, at the end of the six-week orientation/training, beneficiaries are expected to pitch their businesses to a panel of invited investors and then make the most of the moment. If the beneficiaries are able to sell their businesses to the panel of investors, the investors are expected to invest in the business.

Speaking on leadership in business to the young entrepreneurs, Richmond Dayo Johnson, a media executive said, “Knowledge in any field doubles in five years. Therefore, budding entrepreneurs must create the enabling environment in order to succeed in business.”

According to Johnson, budding entrepreneurs must learn to practise what he called ‘bigamy’ that is, they must learn to exercise, relax, find time to think, create time for vacation and family bonding.

Young entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 35years can apply for the scheme that is expected to open on September 21^sttill midnight of October 26, 2016.

 

Seyi John Salau