The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) has trained 100 Young Business Owners (Y-BON) on various vocations and entrepreneurial skills.
Mr Dikko Radda, the Director General of SMEDAN said on Saturday in Osogbo that the selected young business owners would be given grants for work space and equipment to enable them strive and improve their competencies and competitiveness.
Radda, represented by Mrs Chibuzor Osoah, disclosed that the Y-BON project would help in reducing the rate of unemployment, created more jobs and also enable entrepreneurs to be successful in their businesses.
“The beneficiaries will also be given support packages, which is aimed at empowering them to overcome some challenges which SMEs faces.”
According to him, the stiff competition in the global markets have further stifled the operations and growth of domestic SMEs.
The DG said the young business owners from Ilesa and Osogbo were thoroughly screened with an aptitude test conducted to know their level of preparedness and commitment towards the projects.
The State Manager, Dr Samuel Adebola urged the beneficiaries to show commitment toward the success of the projects, adding that it would help in creating more jobs for the unemployed youths, who are not beneficiaries.
Adebola, however, said the agency would serve as watchdog towards ensuring that the grants given to the beneficiaries were used for the right purposes. (NAN)
