The process that will culminate into a partnership on Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES) between the Federal University Technology Akure and the Central Bank of Nigeria to deepen entrepreneurial skills in students has been kick-started.
The plan was unveiled at a meeting between the representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Management of the university.
Speaking on the proposed plan of CBN, Head of Financial Inclusion Secretariat (FIS), Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi who represented the Governor of CBN Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said that the CBN brought up the plan with the aim of providing funds for the youth to help improve and diversify the economic base of the country by creating jobs and improving the macroeconomic stability and also promoting growth in the various economic sectors of the country.
She stated that a lot of youths graduate and enter the labour market after the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Programme with the mindset of seeking the already thinned out white collar jobs, which are limited and so remain unemployed.
According to her, CBN wants to create an opportunity for graduates that will change the narrative of unemployment after NYSC, re-orientating them from being job seekers to employers of labour and creating a new generation of innovative Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) drivers across the productive sectors of the economy.
She said the objectives of the TIES programme include re-orientation graduates towards entrepreneurship, promotion of entrepreneurship training and skill acquisition and facilitation of access to finance for innovative business ideas.
Explaining further, she said that CBN’s collaboration with the tertiary institutions will help to imbibe an entrepreneurial mindset in the graduates by providing a platform for building digital skills that are relevant to the Nigeria’s broader development goals, facilitating easy access to startup capital for innovative enterprises upon graduation which will help to accelerate the nation’s economic growth.
In response, the facilitator of the programme and Director, University Advancement Centre, Professor Tomola Obamuyi, explained that the Institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship (CENT) is a center created by University in accordance with the directives of the National Universities’ Commission (NUC) to provide services and supports to students in entrepreneurship programmes.
He said the Centre is saddled with responsibility of identifying and incubating entrepreneurial talents in undergraduates, thereby assisting them to realize their self-worth through well thought-out entrepreneurship and related bankable businesses.
He stated that CENT engages the services of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) operators within and outside the University in the training of practical skills in entrepreneurship activities for students.
He said that CENT also organizes short term certificate training courses to build the capacities of entrepreneurs.
Professor Obamuyi added that the areas where CBN will be expected to intervene include; provision of well-equipped Centre of Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Enterprise advisory unit, development of learning platforms for the 21st century critical skills (hard and soft) for example, Microsoft 21st Century Learning Method (21CLD) and sponsorship of workshops, conferences and seminars. He also said they could support Agriculture Value-Chain Programme and funding support for startups.
The Director added that the proposed partnership with CBN will allow the University to develop the potential entrepreneurs to full-fledged entrepreneurs and resourceful Job creators.
Also, the partnership will provide a veritable avenue for FUTA to showcase her leading technological expertise in entrepreneurship endeavours and their positive impact on the Nigerian economy. Obamuyi stressed that funding intervention by CBN will help to reduce unemployment in the country.
Lending her voice, the Director of CENT, Professor Mrs. Helen Ogunsuyi said that enabling materials and support from CBN to run and improve the entrepreneurial skill acquisition in FUTA will benefit the students and Nigeria.
She further said that the collaboration is a good thing and she is happy that CBN is thinking in the direction of empowering youths thereby reducing the narration of unemployment in the society.
The Akin Fadeyi led CBN team comprising Mr. Olumide Aina, Mr. Ojo A.T. and Mr. A.R. Savage was received by Professor Oguntunde, the Registrar represented by Mr. Johnson Esho and the Bursar, Mr. Julius Adeshoba.