A diaspora fund for entrepreneurship may support over 1000 budding entrepreneurs in Imo State every cycle which could be yearly, at least.
Those empowered would be encouraged to empower others so that in about 10 years, nobody in Imo State would be unemployed.
A sample of this model has already kicked off in Owerri zone covering the three local government areas under Owerri. It was nurtured by the family of the monarch of Egbu Kingdom, Michel Ezesomaga Egbukole.
The Foundation is being driven by members of the family led by one of the princes, Ikenna Egbukole, the second son. The Foundation just released N1m for each of the 50 selected youth entrepreneurs plus nine others that got N500,000 each.
The scheme is said to mark the 25 years the Eze Egbu the fourth passed on. Coincidentally, the day, July 8, is said to be the birthday of the wife of the late monarch. The family thus, used the opportunity to financially empower 50 plus 9 young entrepreneurs across Owerri North, Owerri West, and Owerri Municipal Local Council areas of Imo State.
Answering questions after the event, the prince (Ikenna) agreed with BusinessDay that Imo State is known to be very high on education, and also very high on unemployment as if education is now a curse.
On whether there is need and possible to create a forum or platform of Imo in the Diaspora (within and outside Nigeria) to float a Fund for promotion of entrepreneurship like the one his family has floated to cover the entire state and maybe give out up to 1000 persons per year, he said the idea was intriguing.
“While we are proud of what we’ve accomplished with the EME Foundation, scaling up to cover the entire state and support up to 1000 entrepreneurs annually would be a significant undertaking. It is certainly an ambitious goal worth exploring.
“Creating a platform for Imo diaspora to contribute to such a fund could be powerful. Many in the diaspora are eager to give back and support development in their home state (Imo). However, coordinating such an effort would require careful planning and strong partnerships,” he said.
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) runs an entrepreneurship and empowerment scheme known as LiveWIRE. According to Igo Weli, SPDC director and head, Corporate Relations Nigeria, around 8,000 Niger Delta entrepreneurs have benefitted from mentoring, training, networking opportunities, and start-up grants since the introduction of the programme in 2003.
The founder of EME Foundation (Ikenna Egbukole) however, said scaling up EMEF like Shell’s LiveWIRE programme could be an interesting comparison.
“While we are currently focused on our existing initiatives, we are always open to growth opportunities that align with our mission. It would require substantial resources and partnerships, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility,” he said.
Right now, he stated, their priority is ensuring the success of their current awardees and refining their existing programmes. “We, however, are constantly evaluating ways to expand our impact. The diaspora fund idea definitely provides food for thought for our future planning.”
On how the fund could be set up, he said it was better for individuals instead of the government to help in reducing unemployment.
“The truth be told, government cannot do everything for the people. So, I call on public-spirited individuals from Imo State to think back home, think of how you can support the government to grow the economy of the state, to create jobs, to empower the youths.
“One of the things that drive us to do this is this; if today I have a bakery, everybody that I need to support must not be in the bread industry. You could support somebody to be in tissue production. You must identify the industry you play in and show us that you have capacity to grow, then we support you. By doing this, you will see that the economy of the state will grow. Government alone cannot employ everybody; everybody must not work in the ministries.
“Imagine these 59 persons we empowered today were not only empowered in terms of finance but in skills. We trained them on book keeping, finance management, etc. The feedback we got is that they are hungry for more knowledge. They have opened WhatsApp platform to learn more and collaborate and network. Some of them show that the training they got was of a bigger empowerment impact than the cash.”
Seed of entrepreneurship:
The prince said the scheme started from his late father who he said was passionate about education and youth matters entrepreneurship. “What he used to tell us was that his biggest investment was in people and children education; not giving people fish, but teaching people how to fish,” he said.
So, the first phase of the scheme was developed in 2019 when they commemorated 20 years of their father’s demise. “Five years after, we are doing the second scheme. Before this second scheme, we have done some other corporate social responsibility programmes such as feeding school children on Children’s Day, Staff Foundation, support for women, etc. These things are there on our social media page.
“There is no political undertone in this project. You must not be a politician to help your people. One of the points I raised to the beneficiaries about not only to innovate but to think of how to support their environment. A safe environment is a safe business area for everybody. For me, if every young entrepreneur can focus on youths between 20 and 40 years and keep them busy, there will not be crime in that environment.
“I asked my last son the other day where he would want to spend the summer holiday, he said Daddy I want to go to Egbu. You know, we didn’t visit last Christmas. We have a big house, swimming pool, and all that, but sometimes, we say okay, lets travel out. So, if people are busy, people are creating jobs as one of the beneficiaries from scheme one said, the environment will be safer. Today, she is an employer of labour as a school proprietress employing teachers. It gives me joy.
“For me, I expect these 59 beneficiaries including those that are physically challenged in the next few years to give feedbacks on what they have done.
“Some have asked to know how we selected the beneficiaries. As I said earlier, our family did not influence the process. It was done online with digital applications. We received over 1130 applications online stating business plan, vision, purpose of funds, scalability, etc. We deployed the services of consultants based in Canada called Digitel who reviewed all that.”
He said they shortlisted 280 for physical interview, out of which 250 who did not have access to internet came the place to connect for their interview via zoom while the other 30 that had their own zoom facilities were interviewed via zoom at their own convenient schedules.
“Out of that, they recommended the 50 in their 26-page report. They also recommended some people with disabilities for compassionate help, just like it happened in 2019. The board of trustees recommended N500,000 each. I am super happy with that recommendation going by what we saw today.”
