MTN Foundation Graduates 5,980 Entrepreneurs

The MTN Foundation has graduated 5,980 young entrepreneurs through its Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) and Digital Skills Initiative, with 600 of them receiving equipment grants to scale up  businesses.

The event, which drew government officials and private sector stakeholders, featured former chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, Taiwo Oyedele, as the keynote speaker.

In her welcome remarks, the chairman of the MTN Foundation, Mosun Olusoga, who was represented by the organisation’s director, Mallam Surajudeen Yakubu, described the graduation as a celebration of resilience and possibility.

She said the initiative, which began eight years ago, had empowered over 15,000 young Nigerians in Plateau, Bayelsa, Bauchi, Sokoto and Edo states with digital and entrepreneurial skills.

Olusoga said the top 600 participants in the current cohort would receive equipment grants as part of the foundation’s continued commitment to supporting sustainable enterprises.

She assured the graduates that the foundation’s support would extend beyond the training, urging them to build businesses that create value and jobs within their communities.

At the ceremony, Oyedele outlined key aspects of the federal government’s ongoing tax reforms, stating that micro and small enterprises with annual turnover below N100 million and assets not exceeding N250 million would qualify for zero per cent corporate income tax under the new framework.

He said the reforms were designed to simplify the tax system, eliminate multiple taxation and create a more supportive environment for entrepreneurs.

“For many years, our tax system was too complex and difficult for small businesses to navigate. The new reform aims to create a system that is simpler, fairer and more transparent,” he said.

Oyedele added that small businesses with turnover not exceeding N100 million would be exempted from charging Value Added Tax (VAT) and from withholding tax deductions on income.

He further disclosed that informal businesses earning not more than N12 million annually would be exempted from personal income tax under a new presumptive tax regime, while those above the threshold would pay one per cent of turnover.

The committee chairman also announced the introduction of a Tax Ombudsman Office to handle complaints of unfair tax treatment and mediate disputes between taxpayers and revenue agencies at no cost.

According to him, a tax harmonisation law being adopted by states would eliminate nuisance taxes and prohibit cash collection of taxes, thereby curbing harassment and extortion.