Norrenberger Financial Group has unveiled an N500 million empowerment support grant for 5,000 young entrepreneurs of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), a gesture the company has said will continue for the years ahead.
Group managing director/CEO of Norrenberger Mr Tony Edeh who made the disclosure yesterday, also announced that 2.5 per cent of the company’s profit after tax is set aside for the entrepreneurship programme which he said is part of its corporate social responsibility programmes. “It is not a loan. It is a grant. It is a grant,” Mr Edeh.
Edeh made the remarks at the Norrenberger Entrepreneurship Fund symposium with the theme “Investing in Nigerian Youth to Drive Entrepreneurship: Opportunities and Challenges.”
“We are looking at impacting 5000 youth corps members this year, and every other year, going forward. We have our partners, multilateral and national partners that are supporting us to reach this goal. We envisage that in five years, we would have impacted I million Nigerian youths and created about 10 million jobs,” Edeh said.
Funding is a major challenge faced by most Nigerian small-scale businesses and young entrepreneurs. But Edeh said there needs to be some level of knowledge impacting and skill acquisition for young entrepreneurs across Nigeria.
Six out of 10 entrepreneurs fail in Nigeria. 40 per cent fail because of lack of capital. Another 40 per cent fail because of the lack of knowledge and the skills to push their ideas forward, according to reports.
“So, apart from creating capital, we are creating an enabling environment that will allow these individuals to gain the kind of skills they will need to run their businesses. We will crown it all with the funds they will need to power their ideas,” Edeh stated.
Adding that where the ideas are compelling, Norrenberger would invite its partners to ensure that such ideas come to life.
Chairman of the board of directors, Norrenberger, Mr Ibrahim Aliyu Bala said the Norrenberger entrepreneurship fund is about investing in human potential. “It is about nurturing the ideas that have the power to reshape industries, disrupt the norm, and redefine what is possible.
It is about creating an ecosystem where innovation thrives, where risks are taken, and where failures are learning points and stepping stones to success.
Entrepreneurship is considered the lifeblood of progress and the driving force behind economic growth and societal transformation. Many speakers at the symposium said it represents the spirit of audacity, the courage to question the status quo, and the relentless pursuit of solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.
“As we set sail on this journey together, let us remember that the true measure of our success will not be the profits we accumulate, but the lives we touch and the positive change we bring to the world,” Bala said.
The country director of the ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Vanessa Phala said the organization remains a valuable partner with Norrenberge in the empowerment of entrepreneurs. She said the ILO has decided to expand women entrepreneurs to expose them to the opportunities out there. “There are diverse ranges of opportunities from business incubators and accelerators.”
Dr Phala said the creative sector is very instrumental to Nigeria’s economic growth and development, adding “You need to dedicate enough time to do your research and what you need to do and how to access it.
