Unemployment: Cleric, others call for support for youths in entrepreneurship

Considering that small businesses are agents of job and wealth creation, as well as the engines of growth of any economy, speakers at Audacious Conference have called on government, philanthropies, corporate organisations and the society at large to encourage more youths in entrepreneurship.

The needed motivation, according to the speakers, would provide the necessary platforms, enable many youths to conquer their mindsets, step out and engage their minds and hands positively in order to create goods and services that will offer values and also address the alarming rate of unemployment in the country.

Speaking at the fifth edition of the annual conference, which hold on the theme: “How to set and achieve impressive goals in 2022” at Heritage Hall, Ogba, Lagos, Lawrence Onochie, senior pastor, King’s Heritage Church, Ogba, and convener of the conference, decried that many people are held back from achieving their set goals because of their mindset, hence the conference aims to liberate many bright minds to step out and actualize their dreams.

The mentorship, according to the pastor, is part of ongoing efforts by the organisers of the conference to scale up their drive to help the Nigerian youth acquire the needed skills; training and motivation in order to become job creators and change agents.

“We are providing valuable information, resources to enable them to live a wholesome life with the needed resources for their businesses to achieve great things. This will in turn, have a significant multiplier effect on the society”, Onochie said.

He has observed over the last 30 years that about 90 percent of people achieve less than 15 percent of their set goals, hence the need to teach them to identify rare opportunities for financial gains through conferences such as this.

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“Setting goals help with clearer objectives, one can align and have a real direction for all of the tasks they intend to achieve. When you set goals for a business, the top priority is making sure that the goals actually make the business better”, he said.

Richie Achukwu, leadership coach and one of the facilitators at the conference, noted that to solve the unemployment challenge, Nigeria needs to strategically position youths to be job creators.

Achukwu urged the government to review the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), so that youths can be productive during their one year service to the nation.

“We lose opportunities with the Youth Service. It is the greatest chance you have to rebuild the society; it is one year you have to get them to think differently not as employees but as job creators. It is a time you bring people like Dangote, Pat Utomi, Tony Elumelu, Cosmas Maduka, Ibukun Awosika, Alakija among others to impact the new generation”, Achukwu said.

Dapo Omolade, CEO of Hybrid Group, another facilitator, who shared his life experience, encouraged the youths to craft their brand in order to sell it.

“Get educated about an idea because the world is changing. Once a problem is identified, you can provide the solution, then know how to sell and tips of successful business”, Omolade said.

Ayo Emakhiomhe, a management consultant and CEO of Coinbox, who equally was a facilitator at the event, gave useful tips on creating wealth, to boost the growth of small businesses one needs to be patient for it to materialize.

Emakhiomhe stated that many start-ups go into extinction before five years, due to prevailing challenges in the Nigerian environment.

But the situation could be addressed through capacity development and other necessary support to build a prosperous business.

Josephine Onochie, wife of the convener, said women should contribute to the vision by using their entrepreneurial abilities to identify business opportunities in import substitution, regardless of the state of the economy.

Onochie explained that Nigerian women were already in male dominating professions and have excelled, they can equally venture into businesses and export their products to other countries, adding they could benefit by networking with the right group.