FCMB investing N1b in Abia youths – Executive Director

The First City Monument Bank, FCMB says, it is partnering with state Governments to ensure that youths in the country are assisted in their entrepreneurial skills where youths that are currently unemployed and had just finished school and have very brilliant business ideas will be supported by their various states.

Addressing newsmen in Umuahia, on the occasion of Abia Youth Mega Summit, the Bank Executive Director, Business Development, Mrs. Bukola Smith said “Because of that, SME department of FCMB decided that we are going to partner with the states and Abia state being the first state that decided to pick up this plan and run the scheme, we decided to partner with them to ensure that the youths take part in line with the desires of the government”.

She said that to quantify the level of involvement of FCMB in the project, in terms of financial support, the financial involvement would be upward to N1 bill, where beneficiaries would receive loans from N3 million to N10 million.

Far more than financial support, FCMB she said, is also bringing in a team to support the training for the youths as well as advice, which she said is a lot more important than the financial component, pointing out that there is a lot the bank is doing to ensure that the young people that are being given some money to set up businesses actually succeeds.

Mrs. Smith disclosed that the rate of failure of SMEs Nigeria is very high and that FCMB does not want that to happen in Abia.

“We are supporting the advisory services, supporting the know-how, supporting the technology in addition to the finance we are also bringing in here: stating that the involvement of FCMB is in terms of loans and grants at the state level, CBN level and at the bank level.

She said “This is one year that the bank has decided that the youth have to be empowered to become productive citizens of the country.

“Since the CBN talked about it, we are the only bank that has partnered with any state at this point in time. We are the first bank to start this youth empowerment and this is the beginning of the greater things we are going to be doing”.

She expressed her gratitude as such “We are extremely indebted to the Abia state Governor for his show of commitment towards the youths of Nigeria and allowing us to be part of it. Without him, we would not have signed on Abia state and I know that because Abia state has taken the front lead in this project, other states would embrace it because they will see the benefit”.

She also advised the youths that the sky is their limit and that with the governor they have, they would be able to achieve their great height and also encouraged them to take up the opportunity and not to let it die.

The bank, she said is looking at the clusters of business opportunities and manufacturing to sign them on, assuring that once a beneficiary has a viable project, the bank will access the projects, quantify it and “we will provide loans to them to expand their business and become employers of labour.

Speaking during the event, the state governor said that Abia youths have unquantifiable potentials and expressed his hope that Abia youths will excel in their endeavours if given the opportunity

While appreciating the ingenuity of Abia youths in manufacturing industry, urging the federal government and employers of labour in the country to review the issue of years of experience in job recruitment for young graduates.

In his welcome speech, the Hon. Commissioner for Youth Development, Comrade Ike Anyatonwu said “the summit is conceived as an interactive clinic with youths to provide them with knowledge resources and the rare opportunity to build a sustainable networks and partnerships with experienced professionals, equipped to nurture their aspirations, enhance integrity values in entrepreneurship and offer realistic prospects for enduring self-employment”.

THE Director-General, national Youths Sercice Corpse, NYSC, Brig Gen Suleiman Zakari Kazaure presented a paper on “The NYSC Skill Acquisition and entrepreneurship Development Programme And Its Implications For A Sustainable National Youth Empowerment Strategy