The Minister of State for Youths, Mr. Ayodele Olawande, has revealed plans to collaborate with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to offer opportunities for youth in every nook and cranny of the country to establish and develop cottage industries relevant to their communities.
“My ambition is to set the pace and drive the formation of at least one cottage or agro-allied industry in every local government in the country,” he said.
Minister Ayodele further revealed that efforts are being made to launch what he calls the Nigerian Youth Academy, which will offer a series of online skills acquisition courses and a resource hub comprising four components that will later migrate to six.
He disclosed these during a meeting with the Registrar-General/CEO of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, on Wednesday.
Mr. Ayodele Olawande said that the CAC’s initiative to formalise the operations of PoS operators was germane to realising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and must therefore be fully supported for the growth of the micro, small, and medium sector of the economy.
The minister stressed that millions of Nigerian youth are endowed with huge ideas and skills capable of revolutionising the economy but lack the formality to realise their aspirations.
The Registrar-General/CEO, CAC Hussaini Magaji, expressed delight that the Commission’s directive on regularisation of fintechs was receiving the desired attentions.
He maintained that the sector was poorly regulated prior to the enforcement of compliance with the requirements of Section 863(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters, CAMA 2020, and the CBN guidelines for Agent Banking, 2013.
Hussaini Magaji said that, as a result, the CAC is generating huge amounts of data that would be used to provide grants and other support for MSMEs in line with the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.
He restated his commitment towards the realisation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s desire to create 50 million jobs for Nigerian youth.
He assured that a technical presentation is expected soon from the Youth Ministry as the CAC continues to gather data for the implementation of laudable initiatives by the federal government.