Professor Pat Utomi. PHOTO: Youtube
The Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL), a non-profit organisation founded to complement government’s efforts in youths’ empowerment, has begun the second edition of the programme aimed at resolving the nation’s unemployment challenge in Delta State with an investment of N480 million.
The Chief Executive Officer of CVL, Prof. Pat Utomi, who disclosed this at a press briefing yesterday in Lagos, said the second version of the project aims to train 400 young Nigerians in entrepreneurial and micro- enterprises against the first edition where only 100 were trained at Ajegunle in Lagos State.
Besides, Chief Operating Officer of CVL, Mr. Uchenna Achunine, said apart from the difference in number, the budget for the second edition stands at N480 million as against the first which was N30 million because starter packs and start grants have been increased.
The CVL boss identified lack of right ideas rather than funds as the biggest challenge in starting up businesses, saying: “That is why we are addressing this by adding value to the trained youths through the programme.”
He said in addressing the issue of funds, participants were as well trained to develop bankable business plans to access single-digit interest rates on loans of several initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BoI) who are the project’s major partners.
Achunine noted that alongside the youths’ intervention programme, there is another one also aimed at training over a hundred of unemployed graduates on self-mastering, leadership and entrepreneurial skills, among others, to make them employable.