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Youth Entrepreneurship as Pathway to Africa’s Development: The GAIN Experience

Article by Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN)

Published

2 years ago

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Chinwe Okoli, Executive Director of GAIN
Chinwe Okoli, Executive Director of GAIN

The greatest asset of any nation is a well-educated and empowered youth. The youth are enthusiastic, curious, creative and innovative.

At this stage, they have the capacity and tenacity to pursue their dreams and attain great heights, however, guidance is important to how this creativity is unlocked. In Africa, young people face a number of challenges, including high levels of youth unemployment.

Youth unemployment inhibits sustained economic growth and development especially in developing countries. In the report on “Global Employment Trends for Youth” by the  International Labor Organization (ILO) published in 2015,  over 169 million working young people earn less than US$2 per day in developing countries. Africa’s youth population is the youngest in the world and is expected to double within the next decade. This will pose a major problem in Africa if nothing drastic is done to tackle the high unemployment rate and its dire consequences.

The African Development Bank (AfDB, ) in its report, Jobs for the Youth in Africa(2016), predicted that 263 million young people will lack an economic stake in the system by 2025. The World Bank in its April 2022 “Update on Global Poverty and Inequality Platform” states that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 61.3% of the global poor population, that is, those that live on $1.90 per day.

Youth unemployment has contributed immensely to a rise in poverty, terrorism, insecurity, banditry, kidnappings, political thuggery, civil unrest, cyber-crime and many social vices we witness in Africa today. These challenges slow the pace of development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals on the continent.

Entrepreneurship has been shown to be the only sustainable path to resolving this situation. Young people in Africa mostly operate within the micro to small business space and Entrepreneurship provides young people with the necessary skills and experiences to thrive economically and contribute to development of the continent.

However, to achieve this noble continental goal, they need to be groomed to acquire entrepreneurship skills to build and most importantly to scale their businesses across Africa, taking advantage of the consolidated over one-billion-persons market and beyond. 

This is exactly the objective of the GAIN Entrepreneurship Masterclass by Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN).

This Masterclass, now in its second year, has been able to reach young Africans in thirteen countries. To ensure an all- round practical entrepreneurship training, the 2021 edition focused on business ideation, design thinking, business modeling, pitching, business finance, investment, forecast, leadership, communication marketing etc and had facilitators drawn from across the globe. Partners included ExxonMobil, TYSYS Capital Group, Country Hill Attorneys & Solicitors, Vurin Group, Strickland Services Limited, Nextzon Limited and Weltek Limited.

The success of this novel approach is already on display. Over the past six months, we have received testimonials on how the program has impacted the businesses of the pioneer participants.

With feedback ranging from clarity of ideas, ideas conception, boosted confidence, actual startups, expansion, more revenue etc. It has been a harvest of positive testimonials from almost 95% of the pool.

One other critical component of the GAIN Entrepreneurship Masterclass was the “tool box” support provided by collaborating partners to the participants by way of IT starterpacks and/or business grants.

Clearly, with the high level of  youth unemployment and underemployment, Africa is on the verge of a major developmental crises, the effects are already here with us-banditary, illegal migration, political thuggery, and terrorism.

Prior to now, African youths who do not have the privilege of attending high-brow business schools on the continent and abroad have largely struggled, leading to a very high mortality rate of micro to small businesses led by young Africans.

GAIN identified this gap and launched the GAIN Entrepreneurship Masterclass solving the twin problems of lack of entrepreneurship knowledge and business support grant.

The program is already showing a lot of promise and is growing into a major continent-wide pipeline for churning out properly groomed young African Entrepreneurs.

Grand Africa Initiative-GAIN is a pan-African non-governmental organization empowering the youth for success in education, employment, entrepreneurship and innovation through capacity building programs, mentorship and high-level annual youth summits.

With her fast-growing network of forward-thinking youths across Africa, GAIN’s programs are designed to empower and develop the youths.

GAIN also partners with well-meaning individuals and organizations who share the same goals and objectives.

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Education

Fake University Degree Holders Soon To Be Fished Out And Arrested – Minister Of Education Announces

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 3, 2024

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The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, on Tuesday, said security agencies will go after individuals with fake university certificates in the country.

According to the minister, the individuals will be tracked after the committee set up by the Federal Government to investigate the activities of university certificate racketeers in the country submits its report.

The Federal Government had set up an Inter-Ministerial Investigative Committee on Degree Certificate Milling to probe the activities of certificate racketeers following an investigative report published by Daily Nigerian which exposed the activities of degree mills in the Benin Republic.

The investigative report, which exposed the illegalities perpetrated by some tertiary institutions in the West African countries, led to the Nigerian government placing a ban on the accreditation and evaluation of degrees from Benin Republic and Togo.

The committee set up by the Federal Government was also tasked with investigating Nigerian private universities established in the last 15 years. Recently, the committee invited memoranda from the public. Selected members of the committee also visited institutions in the Benin Republic.

While speaking at the first quarterly citizens engagement in Abuja on Tuesday, the education minister, Mamman, said;

“On the issue of the fake degrees, we set up a committee and we expect them to submit their reports soon. Once the report is submitted, I can assure you that individuals with fake certificates will be apprehended. They will be tracked by security agencies.”

Also speaking at the engagement, the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tanko Sununu, noted that the quarterly citizenship engagement was aimed at creating awareness of the activities of the ministry.

He noted that the engagement would “ also promote mutual understanding with stakeholders and citizens, build and sustain public trust, and improve transparency and accountability in the sector.”

“Worthy of mention is that this engagement also aims to improve efficiency and streamline government operations by identifying and addressing bottlenecks,” Sununu said.

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Education

Stakeholders Head To Enugu For First South East Educators Conference

Published

1 month ago

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March 16, 2024

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Stakeholders in the education circle are warming up for the maiden edition of Southeast Educators’ Conference 2024(SEEC’24).

The two-day SEEC’24 scheduled to hold 18th & 19th, April 2024 at Nike Lake Resort, Enugu under theme: Future-‘Focused Learning – Igniting the Competitive Edge’

Promises to host key players in the education sector with a potential attendance of over 500 delegates.
The conference will feature a diverse lineup of speakers, covering topics ranging from holistic learning approaches to cutting-edge technology integration.

Speaking ahead of the conference, Mrs Doris Chinedu-Okoro,CEO, Evergreen Group, said SEEC’24 is the first of its kind in the Southeast region, presenting a historic opportunity for stakeholders to pioneer positive change in the local education sector.
“It brings together diverse perspectives and innovative ideas,fostering collaboration and networking among educators and stakeholders.
Hundreds of delegates will be in attendance.
“SEEC’24 is dedicated to exploring transformative practices, emphasising holistic learning, technology integration, globalcitizenship, life-long learning, and community engagement”, she said.

Mr. Osita Chidioka, the former Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, who recently launched an online mentorship and leadership programme for Nigerian youths named Mekaria Mentorship Programme (MMP) Foundation Course, will deliver the keynote at SEEC’24.

Prof. Pieter Verdegem; Dr. Joy Isa, Mrs. Bukola Adewuiyi, Lady Uju Dike, Fr. John Njorteah, Alex Onyia, Rotimi Eyitayo, Rhoda Odigboh, Elfrida Diete-Spiff Omole, Dr. ChibuezeLawrence Ofobuike, Ify Obidi-Essien, Dr. Abimbola Ogundere, Angelina Ikeako, Odetola Ebenezer Israel and OgochukwuOnyia, are some of the speakers lined up for the event.

The Evergreen Group CEO added that the conference thrives on a vision to create a dynamic platform that equips educators with the tools and knowledge needed to make a lasting impact on the educational landscape of South-Eastern Nigeria.

SEEC’24 is open to School Owners, Heads of Schools (Public and Private), Educational Stakeholders, Counselors, Teachers, Parents, Investors, Startups, and others in the education ecosystem.
“Participants will have the opportunity to engage in two full days of conference sessions, diving deep into the future of Education.
“There will be ample networking opportunities with school leaders from across the geopolitical zone and beyond.
“The evening Gala Night promises a delightful atmosphere for dancing, dining, wining, and fostering deeper connections in a relaxed setting”, she further explained.

Registration is N100,000 via: https://bit.ly/3uTcv9e

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Education

VDL: Essay Contest Alert For Senior Secondary School Students In Nigeria. Interesting Prizes For Winners Attached

Published

2 months ago

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February 10, 2024

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If you are a secondary School student in the senior category (SS1 – SS3) in Nigeria, Here is your chance to showcase your writing prowess in the “Values for daily living ESSAY CONTEST”

The VDL has set out in full motion to reward students who are eager to unleash their academic brilliance and challenge their inner strength.

This opportunity serves as a way to give back to the society by not only inculcating the values needed for a better society, But by additionally encouraging students to let their inner lights shine even brighter.

With the VDL Essay contest, Winners get to take home a whooping sum of;
₦500,000 For the student in place of the 1st Position,

₦300,000 For the student in place of the 2nd position, And

₦200,000 For the student in place of the 3rd position.

And it gets even better as the prize doesn’t just end here.
Winners will enjoy numerous benefits that will expose and propel them to a more beautiful journey ahead.

So what are you waiting for?

Are you a parent, A guardian, A teacher, A friend, Whoever you are, Share the Goodnews around and tell a friend to tell another friend.
Get that eligible student(s) registered as soon as possible as registrations will be ending on the 28th of February 2024.

To register and submit your essay, Visit the website by clicking on the link displayed on the Eflyer.

Please carefully read through the instructions on the website before registering.

Seize this moment to make your Narrative count!

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