The Institute of Strategic Entrepreneurs of Nigeria (ISEN) has urged government to take steps that would encourage the youth to take more interest in entrepreneurship to combat the nation’s unemployment indices.
The Director, Training and Membership, ISEN, Dr Albert Ndeze gave the advice at the institute’s induction lecture and fellowship award on Saturday in Lagos.
Our Correspondent reports that the ceremony was themed: “Empowering and Motivating the Youth to be Self Employed, Self Reliant through Entrepreneurship Development Skills.”
Ndeze urged government to address bottlenecks such as access to research and empowerment funding to attract more youth interest in the area.
He said that addressing these challenges would engender an astronomical increase of 100 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) by 2031.
The director called for a more favourable entreprenuerial environment, pushing for additional vocational training to empower first degree holders.
He said this was to engender self-sufficency and less dependency on unavailable white collar jobs.
Ndeze said the institute was ready to partner with government on youth empowerment programmes to gainfully engage the youth against the societal vices some were currently engaged in.
“Government must create a favourable environment for both entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial institutes to thrive.
“Once this is in place, it would ensure more job creation and more occupied youths as a ripple effect.
“Government must develop the nation’s human capital to avoid human capital flight by identifying and training those with skills to acquire practical knowledge necessary to attain self employment and self reliance,” he said.
In his keynote address, Rev Anayochi Ekeh, a tax and management consultant, described entrepreneurship as the paradigm shift the nation needed to move from a developing to a developed state.
Ekeh, however, hinged the nation’s entrepreneurship survival on the practical efforts of government to provide ease of access to loans and grants, improved infrastructure, and more friendly business regulatory activities.
He charged entrepreneurs on the use of intuitive abilities, and activities that would develop and improve their skills, particularly in production and manufacturing, for greater national advantage in the global business community.
“In comparison with China, India and other developed countries of the world, what they have done differently is the use of their intuitive abilities to think through the futuristic needs of the world and create it.
“This goes to show that entrepreneurship is the paradigm shift that the nation needs to grow.
“However, to prevail and succeed as an entrepreneur, government needs to address the bottlenecks that have stifled the growth of entrepreneurs so that more jobs can be created, more youth engaged and the society is better for it,” he said.
Mr Nwoke Uwaoma, a fellowship awardee, in his remarks, appealed for the creation of a dedicated research funding facility across the country to engender ease of access to funds by entreprenuers.
Uwaoma, who is also a global pundit and research scientist with focus on fluidic and thermal research, lauded the institute’s strides in ensuring that the Nigerian youth attained self sufficency.
On his fellowship conferment, Uwaoma said the development afforded him more opportunities to transfer his knowledge to the youth coming behind him.
“My works in Oil & Gas ‘Fluidynamics’ drew the attention of the University of Lagos and University of Illinois USA in 2011 and 2013 respectively, having been previously endorsed as a Full Member of Institute of Data Processing Management (IDPM).
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has recognized me as Nigeria scientist of note, while the Abia State Government has attested to provision of land for a proposed Refinery, and my Local Government, Umuahia South confirmed provision of land for my Grace University of Technology.
“Also, the management of Guinness Book of Records had sought my permission in 2009 for inclusion and while processing the funding of the foregoing projects, my fecund mind has also diversified into education, energy engineering, chemistry, and biological sciences.
“So this award affords me the opportunity to transfer my knowledge and skills to the upcoming Nigerian youth for the greater good and development of the nation,” he said.
Our Correspondent also reports that Mr John Omimakinde, a Chartered Accountant, and Mr Caleb Adelowo, Assistant Director of Research and Head of Department, Science Policy Research and Innovation Studies, National Centre for Technology Management, were also inducted as fellows of the institute.