Olakunle Nafiu, the director general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), says the scheme is committed to strengthening its collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on the empowerment of corps members.
In a statement by Caroline Embu, NYSC spokesperson, Nafiu spoke when he hosted Charles Odii, the DG of SMEDAN, in his office in Abuja.
Nafiu described SMEDAN as a critical stakeholder in NYSC’s skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development (SAED) programme, which, according to him, has trained and empowered thousands of corps members to set up thriving businesses across the country.
He said the scheme prioritises policies and programmes that promote national unity, integration and socio-economic development.
“SMEDAN is a key partner of NYSC because it has helped in birthing Corps businesses that are contributing to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), thereby boosting the national economy,” he said.
The NYSC DG commended the agency for its impact across various value chains, particularly in entrepreneurship advocacy, financial literacy, skills acquisition training and facilitation of access to funding.
He added that NYSC would continue to prioritise the SAED programme and strengthen linkages with relevant funding institutions to ensure Corps entrepreneurs had better access to loans and grants.
Speaking earlier, the DG of SMEDAN stressed the need to review the existing memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the two agencies to further enhance the empowerment of corps members with business skills and relevant tools.
Odii disclosed that the agency currently supports over 39 million small businesses across Nigeria and called for the creation of an NYSC community development service (CDS) group dedicated to increasing public awareness of its programmes.
He described SMEDAN as the federal government’s apex institution for the development of small businesses, with responsibilities spanning job creation, poverty reduction and industrial growth, adding that the NYSC remains a strategic partner in achieving these objectives.
“Right from the orientation camp, we want corps members to become business development service providers,” Odii said.
“SMEDAN is also ready to train NYSC officials on skills that can make them business owners in retirement,” he said.
