Ten thousand females in Akwa Ibom State will benefit from a joint partnership scheme between the Akwa Ibom State Government and the Lagos State Enterprise Development Center (EDC).

The State Governor, Umo Eno disclosed this on Friday, October 27, 2023 during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by both organizations at the Government House, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The ten thousand selected women will receive entrepreneurial and capacity building training as well as support services to establish Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) on the completion of their training.

According to him, this new partnership agreement is a welcome entrepreneurial decision which will help strengthen the governor’s plan of developing human capital which is one of the key objectives of the ARISE Agenda.

He expressed his happiness about the new development and thanked the EDC for identifying the plans of his administration for the state and keying into it.

He stated that the partnership will yield mutual benefits for both parties and assured the firm of the state government’s readiness to be actively involved in the execution of the project as it will ensure the actualization of one of goals of the ARISE agenda which is capacity building and entrepreneurial development.

He however urged the Enterprise Development Center(EDC) to not only provide capital for individuals to go into business. He emphasized on the need to train these individuals, and provide an avenue for learning in order to optimize the potentials of these businesses as small businesses are very instrumental to the economic development of the state.

“The vision for this project is to raise entrepreneurs and support them but it is not enough to just give them money, it is important to train them and make them reliable.”

“This partnership for me is critical, I thank the EDC for their partnership and I ask for more of this type of support so as to actualize the visions that we have set out and at the end of it all we can truly say that we have developed out SMEs. We can’t get it wrong with SME’s.”

He explained that by encouraging Akwa Ibom youths to go into entrepreneurship and training them, their ability to manage human and material resources is developed and this makes them better members of society instead of venturing into politics, ill-equipped for leadership.

The Head of the EDC team who is also the head of its Alumni Relations as well as Support Services, Nnenna Ugwu expressed delight in the strides taken by the governor and his administration to ensure human capital development in the state and assured the Governor that the beneficiaries of the program will be well-trained and equipped for success.

“This project is a partnership between ourselves, the Enterprise Development Center and the Mastercard Foundation called Transforming Nigerian Youths Program aimed at training young people to ensure that the future of our society and economy is safe with them.”

She noted that the EDC program is in partnership with the Transforming Nigerian Youths Program, initiated by the Mastercard Foundation. She explained that those qualified for this program are women between the ages of 18 and 35 who are already in business and aspire to grow.

She added that beyond the training, there will be provision for support services for participants.