NECA trains 1000 youths on entrepreneurship

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) in collaboration with Nestle Nigeria and Redwood Consulting have trained over 1000 youths in a free entrepreneurship skills programme.

NECA’s Director-General, Mr Timothy Olawale; Managing Director, Redwood Consulting, Mrs Hannah Oyebanjo; and Category Manager, Coffee, Nestle Nigeria, Mr Olugbenga Alabi, made the disclosure in a joint statement on Sunday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the collaborative corporate social responsibility effort by the organisations began in March, and would continue to run until the end of June.

Olawale said the programme, NECApreneur, was launched as part of its mission to influence economic and socio-labour policies in order to create a favourable business environment.

He said: “NECAPreneur is an e-solution targeted at providing an easy-to-access opportunity for the teeming public to upscale their entrepreneurial skills and ultimately add to national development.

“Although our entrepreneurial courses are paid, we decided to open it for free to the general public during this period.

“Since, most people are at home and have extra hours, why not help them put the hours to good use by providing relevant trainings such that at the end of this COVID-19 pandemic, they will be armed with skills to help them get prepared for times ahead,” he said.

Also, Oyebanjo, MD, Redwood Consulting, a training firm, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the free training to prepare for the uncertain times ahead after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The online courses are suitable for different stages of the entrepreneurial journey.

“Topics include ‘How Anyone Can Start a Business; Market Knowledge; Logistics and Operations’ and many more, making the training highly relevant for all entrepreneurs.

“The courses are easy to access for free, at https://necapreneur.ng/ until the end of June 2020, ” she said.

In his remarks, Alabi of Nestle, who commended the initiative, said the initiative was in the same tune with his company’s NESCAFÉ’s “START STRONG, FINISH STRONG” campaign.

“I urge every young entrepreneur or aspiring entrepreneur to take advantage of this free opportunity to prepare themselves for the times ahead, ” Alabi said.