‘Tricycle, Cargoes Production In Ekiti Will Create Jobs For Youths’

The centre manager of the federal agency in the state, Mr Fasan Babalola, has said the Technology Incubation Centre (TIC) will soon commence the production of Tricycle buses and Cargoes in Ekiti state, saying it would help to create jobs for youths in the state.

Babalola, who disclosed in Ado-Ekiti, said the production of the ‘Made in Ekiti Tricycle’, popularly known as Keke NAPEP, was part of the agency’s projections for 2025, to be executed, in conjunction with Ekiti State Technical College, Ado-Ekiti.

He spoke at the 2024 Product Exhibition and Awards ceremony, collaborating with the National Association of Technology Incubation Entrepreneurs (NATIE) state chapter.

He said, “This should be a joy and priority for all Ekiti sons and daughters because if this is achieved, many youths will be employed directly here for production and indirectly through usage.

“This proposal, therefore, needs support, especially finance, to achieve the Ekiti Tricycle”, he said.

While calling for the government’s and citizens’ support on the move, he noted that one of the agency’s significant challenges is the non-patronage of made-in-Ekiti products.

He added that the centre also proposed a functional laboratory where Ekiti products, both within and outside the centre, can be tested and certified fit, even for export.

Babalola said the Centre, in conjunction with her entrepreneurs, had trained over 1,000 youths, women, youth corps members, and I.T. students in various vocations. At the same time, 126 job opportunities had been created.

He said the centre currently has 22 resident entrepreneurs and 12 graduated entrepreneurs, and it sells 61 products, including foods, cosmetics, essential oil, animal feeds, pharmaceuticals, herbals, engineering, and building materials.

In his address, the  Zonal Director supervising all TIC activities in South West States), of the National Board for Technology Incubation (NBTI), Mr Olufemi Olugbenga, said the technology Incubation programme of the federal government, was an institutional mechanism deliberately designed to fast track both local and regional economic development.