Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, has called for intensification of sound entrepreneurship training from primary schools to enhance the capacity of Nigerians in the globally competitive economic environment.
Osinbajo stated this at the official launch of the National School Entrepreneurship Programme (N-SEP) hosted by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in Abuja.
He noted that the emergence of knowledge based economy had led to the adoption of entrepreneurship education as a means of linking knowledge and skill with learning, developing critical human capital and mitigating social consequences of unemployment.
He noted that two schools from Abuja were selected to represent Nigeria at the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship (SAGE) 2018 World Cup billed for Durban, South Africa from August 8th to 14th.
“This programme we are launching today is aimed at encouraging innovation and skills among basic and secondary schools pupils and students as this will enhance entrepreneurship and enterprise development towards poverty reduction and employment generation”, he stated
Director General/CEO of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Umaru Radda, assured that the agency will continue to invest in young entrepreneurs.
“The development of entrepreneurial mind-sets among pupils/students in primary and secondary schools in Nigeria is becoming increasingly important in preparation for catching them young for improving employment generation through wealth creation and self-reliance”, he added.
