The ILO Explores Entrepreneurial Potential in Abuja

ABUJA (ILO News): The ILO has expressed its readiness to partner the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) through Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA) to promote entrepreneurship education in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The Director of the ILO Country Office, Dennis Zulu, stated this when he received a six-person team of AEA who paid a courtesy call on him.

Receiving the team led by the Manager, Asset Management, Mr. Chudi Ezerigwe, Dennis Zulu, stated that there were a lot of entrepreneurial potentials in Abuja, which if well harnessed, will create a lot of decent job opportunities for women and youth in FCT including those in the rural parts of the territory.

Dennis Zulu informed the delegation that the ILO had been working with the National Youth service Corps (NYSC) on entrepreneurial skills training. He assured the AEA of the ILO’s readiness to support the AEA in developing its capacities to promote entrepreneurial skills training on various skills including waste recycling. He emphasized the need for collaboration to ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nigeria and looked forward to formalizing the collaboration through an MOU.

Earlier on, Mr. Ezerigwe, while introducing its organization stated that AEA was the FCT vehicle for Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development and poverty reduction. According to him, the Agency focused on the development of micro, small and medium enterprises within the FCT, and aimed to assist new and existing entrepreneurs to overcome obstacles to growth through access to finance, proper business planning, developing entrepreneurship skills and suitable work-space.

The AEA expressed their interest to work with the ILO in developing relevant programs and activities aimed at stimulating and nurturing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). In the course of the meeting, representatives from the AEA stated that they have assisted entrepreneurs within the FCT especially in rural communities on how to effectively manage their businesses and secure loans for their businesses by organizing them into cooperative societies. This assistance was not limited to SMEs in the cities; but was extended to the informal sector in rural areas as well.

Mr. Ezerigwe thanked the ILO for meeting the AEA, and called for a more formal relationship to enable the agency benefit from the ILO’s wealth of experience in entrepreneurship education. He also called for capacity building for their staff and partnership towards initiating a project in waste recycling. He went on to state that the agency has identified other partners who will work with the FCT on the waste recycling initiative.