About forty five young people drawn from the nine local governments in the southern zone of Adamawa state have been equipped with the technical know-how to launch into various entrepreneurial endeavours of their choosing.
The three-Day empowerment training which attracts five participants from nine local governments of the southern zone was designed to raise the next generation of entrepreneurs in the area in order to address the critical question of unemployment and poverty among youths in Adamawa state.
Binos made this known while addressing newsmen in Numan, Adamawa state.
Binos said, the first objective of the project is to change the mindset of the trainees towards looking inward and not stop waiting for the illusive government jobs.
Binos said, “They have to stop waiting those government jobs that are no longer available, so that they can stand on their feet and not wait for government jobs that are not coming.
“Our job here is to empower them to stand on their feet, set up their own businesses and run them effectively and professionally.
“We have cases where people who do minial jobs earn much than those depending on minimum wage.
“The overall think is not to wait for government jobs but to start something on their own.”
He added that, “From the various presentations here, some of them are ready to start dry season farming, event planning, among other fields the participants are ready to explore.
“It is only when we open the eyes of the youths to opportunities available, that they can begin to take advantage of them and create jobs and make wealth, we are trying to open their minds to endless opportunities that abound.
“The biggest mistake we make is reducing programs like this to how much money participants will get instead of how much opportunities they could be exposed to.
“At the end of the day, most likely no money would come out directly from my pocket but we are looking for ways to connecting participants with organisations like NIRSAL, SMEDAN, among other options in order to give them access to resources that would power their dream project.
“We are also seeking ways of connecting them to mentors who would guide them and see that they are working according to best principles of business practice in the field they have chosen.
“This is the first of its kind here and we hope that within one year they will be able to employ one other person.
“We intend to continue the training next year and double the number here and may be have about hundred participants.”
One of the master trainers for the leadership and entrepreneurship project, Abioye Oke said, “The training is more of an intervention designed to create some form of generational empowerment.
“We have been able to create a unique tracking system and an appraisal system, first within three months and six months.
“The senator is connecting the youths of this area to the outside world, organisations like SMEDAN, are opened to empower the kind of ideas put forward here by these young people and nurse it to a big business.”
Mbasti Nicholson, a participant in the training said she is previleged to be part of the training on leadership and would utilise the knowledge gained in the training to improve her business and entrepreneurial skills.
She said, “I thought it was all about having money but now I know knowledge should preceed wealth.
“I own a restaurant and an outdoor cataring services and this training has changed my mindset about how I would relate with my staff and customers and I think this will great improve my work and has repositioned me to achieve more in life and business.”
Another participant, Charity Babale said, “I am into beddings and I would require like three hundred and fifty thousand to grow my business
“I still operate from home and I really feel I could do better if I own my shop and purchase my sewing machine.
“Because this training has enlarged my capacity and ability to connect to customers and target market.
“I have learned how to lead myself first before I could lead others.”
Speaking at the occasion, another participant, Usman Jingi, from Mayo Belwa said, he has a background in Point of Sales (POS) business and he would like the training to empower him with three million naira to venture into his own kind of business.
This training has helped me to know for sure that this is what I want to do.
