Another 130 Shell-trained entrepreneurs join business ranks with N40m seed capital

Another set of 130 freshly trained entrepreneurs have joined 6,350 previous business executives under the Shell scheme, LiveWIRE, which is said to have created 3,736 businesses since 2003, when the scheme was introduced.
The latest entrepreneurs unveiled in Port Harcourt were given N40 million cheque (about N300,000 each) as seed capital to go try their skills in various areas of business.
Some of those who got such opportunity in 2014 and excelled came back to give testimony and got fresh capital award to do more, as is the tradition of LiveWIRE, a flagship of youth entrepreneurship development programme brought down from international level to Nigeria in 2003.
Shell says the programme also helps youth entrepreneurs to draw loans from various institutions around the world, and is aimed at raising business awareness of final year students in the university towards self-employment.
Shell’s general manager, external relations, Igo Weli, said the implementation of LiveWIRE had focused on the company’s philosophy of contributing to the economic empowerment and job creation for youths in the oil host communities.
Weli, who was represented by Gloria Udo, Social Investment manager, said: “Our programme provides access to entrepreneurship training, business development services as well as start up capital to establish and expand youth-owned businesses. The curriculum covers entrepreneurship, business plan writing, critical evaluation, and business idea pitching modules.”
He said the 3,213 entrepreneurs equipped with seed capital out of the 6,350 so far trained in LiveWIRE have so created almost 7000 jobs in the region, saying the new pool from Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta and Akwa Ibom would surely swell the ranks.
He added: Twenty one of the new group have chosen projects in energy solutions, and that 14 of others will be engaged in technology-related businesses, seven in social enterprise, the rest would be in wholesale, retail, agric, manufacturing, and telecommunication businesses.”
Shell said it will continue to support the young entrepreneurs during the mentorship to reach their peak”.
One of the motivational resource persons, a business mentor, Emeka Unachukwu, immediate past president of PHCCIMA and founder of ‘Develop U’, urged the budding entrepreneurs not to feel too confident, saying it was the waterloo of brilliant persons. He rather urged them to consider, engaging a mentor so as to grow and learn little tricks that make a difference, and to scale up at all times.
He also talked about setting corporate targets at all times by moving from one turnover amount to another from year to year, seek and attract more capital, seek partners, etc.
Shell said it has introduced a category for disabled persons to also try their skills on entrepreneurship, saying 180 persons so far been trained and assisted.