Mandilas Group, a multi-sector organization providing mobility and cooling solutions such as auto sales and workshops; and Carrier range of products has donated working tools to artisans in the Lagos Island East LCDA.
The donation which includes complete mechanical tool sets and spraying machines was made during the Lagos Island East LCDA Artisans Day in Lagos recently where over 500 artisans of different crafts were in attendance.
Handing over the equipment to the beneficiaries, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Mandilas Group Nigeria, Ola Ayo-Adeloye who was represented by Funmi Akpan, the Group Corporate Affairs Manager said youth economic empowerment is critical for a developing economy. It is therefore essential to invest in skills and upskilling of our youth. “The identification of this singular need by the Lagos Island East LCDA has elevated the LCDA above all others in Lagos State and Mandilas is in total alignment with the need to skill and upskill artisans”.
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Empowering and up-skilling artisans has become important as they form part of the small and medium scale enterprises regarded as the fulcrum of economic growth and development. Citing ITF/UNIDO skills gap assessment report, Ayo-Adeloye said low skill levels possessed by a large proportion of Nigerian workers when compared with those held by their counterparts in other emerging markets has contributed largely to the low productivity levels in the country.
Mandilas has in its 70 years operation in Nigeria been involved in community and school project engagement in various aspects through its corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Appreciating Mandilas for the gesture, the Chairman of Lagos Island East LCDA, Muibi Alade Folawiyo said the company has been a worthy and responsible corporate organization and Citizen of the LCDA. “On behalf of the people of Lagos Island East LCDA and particularly the beneficiaries of your kindness today, we thank you immensely.
He said artisans hold a very strategic position in the nation’s economy. They are the economic lubricants that create from their imagination and cultural background. Their products and services around the world, not only give sustenance to the artisans and their families, but also help to grow the economy and reduce crime rate in the society.
Folawiyo recalled that the first annual World Artisan Day was launched in Santa Monica California, United States on April 18, 2021, with the theme, “a better world for artisans is a better world for all”, to honour artisans around the world for their unique contributions to uplifting communities and preserving humanity.
Also speaking, Sulaiman Lanre Afinni Member, Lagos State House of Assembly, Lagos Island Constituency II who believed that the donation and activities of the artisans will increase the economic activities on the Island called on the beneficiaries to make good use of the equipment.
