BY AUSTIN OYIBODE
Not less than 1000 Deltans will benefit from the entrepreneurship development programme of the Delta state technical and vocational education board in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Executive Secretary of the board, Engr. Smart Ikem, made the disclosure on Monday during the flag off of a training programme organized by the board in collaboration with the CBN for the 1000 selected participants drawn from all the vocational training centres in the state.
The training for the empowerment is to run for one week beginning from Monday March 15, 2021. The training is aimed at empowering the beneficiaries on sustainable business and how to generate acceptable business plans that would aid them to access the loan from the CBN.
To this end, the beneficiaries were gathered at the board’s headquarters in Asaba where management of the board including commissioner for vocational education, Mrs. Gbugbemi Ikolo, board chairman, Mike Akpobire, Executive Secretary of the board, Smart Ikem, Executive Secretary of the state micro, small and medium enterprises development agency, Barrister Orezi Esievo and commissioner for youths, Mike Egwuyenga spoke extensively to them.
Engr. Ikem said the training would be held in Asaba, Sapele, Warri and Ozoro, saying the training will churn out entrepreneurs across the state who will contribute to the growth and economic development of the state.
Mike Akpobire, chairman of the board, said for them to qualify for the loan, the 1000 participants must obey all directives and instructions which include total attendance for the five training days of the programme.
He also said a good business plan must also be written to facilitate easy access to the CBN loan. He said a bank loan goes with 25 percent interest rate but the loan from the CBN has zero digit interest. Arising from that, he said the beneficiaries must write a good business plan so as to obtain the loan.
He said that he expected 100 percent success for all the participants, saying: “It’s good you begin a programme and it’s better you end it well.” He added that the programme has a cost unit but the government has decided to bear all the cost from inception to the end as the programme is aimed at boosting the economy of the state for the good of all.
Mike Egwuyenga, state commissioner for youth development, said the participants at the programme have taken a great step for progress. He said a lot is expected from them.
According to him, “Government has deemed iit to support you to achieve your goals in life. The benefit from this engagement is to enable you stay in business and not just to have a business. This process involves a total commitment from you. Government wants you to upscale your business.
“Do not throw away this opportunity. You will be assisted to grow and remain on top. Do not divert the money into non-essentials. I encourage you to utilise this opportunity to the fullest and lift yourself from want and penury.”
Dr. Kingsley Emu, Economic Adviser to the governor, told the beneficiaries that the state government is spending much to create this opportunity for the entrepreneurship development of the state. “We train, empower you and you go and train others. Nobody is asking you for money,” Emu said.
Orezi Esievo, Executive Secretary to the state micro, small and medium enterprises development agency, said the opportunity is a lifetime one for the beneficiaries. She noted all over the world, government is opening opportunities for citizens to alleviate the challenges occasioned by the coronavirus pandemic that ravaged the world in 2020.
She threw some light on the DELTA CARES programme which she explained to mean a plan of the government to stimulate the economy and revive dying businesses, emphasizing that good business plan is a necessity for winning the programme.
Gbugbemi Ikolo, commissioner for vocational education, insisted that for anyone to benefit from the programme they must be interested and committed to it. She warned those who are only interested in the money to find their way out.
She said whatever the government is doing is for the people of Delta to have a great tomorrow. She noted that government is doing everything possible to take people away from the street “so that we can have a more peaceful and organised environment.”
