The plan by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to create no fewer than 75,000 jobs annually for young Nigerians and undergraduates will go a long way in addressing the nation’s rising youth unemployment. The apex bank has reportedly mapped out a N500 million endowment fund to help university and polytechnic graduates start their own businesses under the Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES).
Under the scheme, young Nigerians and undergraduates can access between N5 million and N25 million loan to fund businesses and vocation. The initiative, which will be executed in partnership with Nigerian polytechnics and universities, is expected to create about 25,000 entrepreneurs per year and additional 75,000 jobs.
The new scheme will lead to the creation of more female graduate entrepreneurs, who will also create additional jobs. It is also expected that more agro-entrepreneurs will emerge as well as more creative entrepreneurs. The programme will also create more technology entrepreneurs and many other graduate entrepreneurs.
According to the CBN, the scheme will cover innovative start-ups and existing businesses owned by graduates of Nigerian polytechnics and universities in the areas of agribusiness, production, processing, storage and logistics; information technology, application/software development, business process outsourcing, robotics and data management.
Others are creative industry in entertainment, artwork, publishing, culinary/event management, fashion, photography, beauty/cosmetics; science and technology involved in medical innovation, ticketing systems, traffic systems, renewable energy, waste management and others.
However, the apex bank says that priority will be given to innovative entrepreneurial activities with high potentials for export, job creation and transformational impact. The loan comes in two categories, made up of tier one individual projects with a loan limit of N5 million of five years tenor at an interest rate of five per cent per annum. The second tier for partnership/company projects has a loan limit of N25 million with five years tenor at five per cent interest rate per annum.
We commend the CBN for the job scheme, which will make young graduates job creators instead of perennial job seekers. Though the level of youth unemployment in the country is high, the scheme is a good starting point in addressing the problem. With the initiative, the apex bank intends to make the youths, especially young graduates, to embrace entrepreneurship and reduce the army of unemployed youths.
Presently, the youths account for 60 per cent of the country’s population. They should be engaged productively to keep them away from criminality and other vices. We believe that the CBN plan will boost the development of more Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), considered the engine of the economy and the biggest employer of labour in the country.
However, the government should go beyond the lofty agenda by the CBN and address holistically the factors responsible for the rising youth unemployment. Since insecurity is one of the triggers of unemployment, government must tackle it headlong. No investor will be willing to invest in a country where security of lives and assets cannot be guaranteed.
Also, government should provide enabling environment and infrastructure for business to thrive. The ease of doing business needs to be further improved. Unless these challenges are adequately addressed, not much can be achieved in the area of attracting more direct foreign investments, which will also create more jobs. The absence of business-friendly climate accounts for the closure of some firms and the increase in youth unemployment.
While the CBN has set a good example through the initiative, there is need for private sector participation in the programme. We say this considering the fact that there is a limit to what the apex bank can do in massive job creation drive.
Although the fund will be managed by a body of independent experts the CBN would appoint, we call for transparency in the disbursement of the fund to qualified candidates. It should not be an exercise for political patronage. If the scheme is effectively managed, it will have multiplier effects that will drastically reduce the nation’s growing unemployment.
Let the graduates do their homework very well and provide convincing proposals that will enable them benefit from the initiative. It is an opportunity the youths must seize with both hands. They should spend the money given to them appropriately. We urge the CBN to diligently monitor the disbursement and utilisation of the money meant for the scheme.