Presently in Nigeria, the youth unemployment rate increases daily due to a lack of entrepreneurship education, inadequate framework conditions, and lack of focus and implementation problems in Government youth development intervention policies.
Education is vital for sustainable employment and economic growth, and righteously, youth should be encouraged and supported to venture into innovative and creative self-employed jobs.Â
A shortcoming is that professionalism is no longer considered in implementing youth entrepreneurship education policies in most Nigerian tertiary institutions. Consequently, productivity only comes from professionalism because you cannot give what you do not have.
Sentiment, self-interest, corruption, and nepotism put some people in positions of authority without having the skills for accomplishment. For a gainful outcome, the right person must be given a suitable duty. The Government, private organizations, civil societies, wealthy individuals, and philanthropists have significant roles to play in youth empowerment and community development. There will undoubtedly be sustainable development when there is a conducive environment and good business orientation for youth.
Most rural young people grow from family businesses, train, and acquire skills in their parents’ creative professional disciplines. Uneducated young people or school dropouts continue with their family business or embark on their choice of occupations.
Young people can choose from many lucrative businesses in Nigeria’s rural communities. Some youth do not know where to start; therefore, they move from one enterprise to another. To succeed, acquiring skills and being passionate about the chosen discipline is essential.
The economic hardship forces many young college graduates to follow the crowd by becoming “necessity entrepreneurs,” whereas seventy percent of businesses fail at the introduction stage.
Objectively, most colleges do not teach entrepreneurship concepts, such as skills acquisition training, business management practices, swot analysis, digital technology, marketing, supply chain management, accounting and auditing principles, mentorship, networking and teamwork manners, risks and challenges management, among others.
Currently, there is no immediate employment; therefore, youth must learn to be productive, attend business seminars and workshops, and gain innovative business models and digital knowledge both in and outside the school to serve as an alternative plan for sustainable employment. A quality education implies practical and commercial knowledge for sustainable livelihood, decent work, and economic growth.
Moreover, some youth believe that having a degree certificate gives them the absolute knowledge to perform any business task without training or mentoring. The other effect is that they feel proud as degree holders to learn under uneducated skillful persons or school leavers; thus, the business may fail to survive due to a lack of enabling skills and experience. For any degree certificate to be relevant, it must be highly productive.
Example:
When I finished my Higher National Diploma in 1996, I decided to start a nylon packaged cocoa powder tea in my neighborhood, Ikirun, Osun State at an affordable price. I read the process of making it in the business magazine. After completing my research on sources of materials, such as cocoa powder, ingredients, packaged nylon and sealing machine, target market, and the cost implication, I was confident about starting the business. I went to an Industry in Ibadan to buy the locally made nylon sealing machine. In the industry, I was told to pay five hundred naira only (N500) for training on how to use the equipment and learn the “cocoa powder tea” production process but based on what I had read and the confidence I had in myself, I ignored it and bought only the machine at four thousand naira (N4000).
I started the production with fifteen thousand naira (N15,000) raised from my parents to buy cocoa powder, sugar, nylon, and a sealing machine. The product was new in my local community, with few business competitors, so I had a more outstanding market advantage. I informed family, friends, and community people of my intention to start and sell the products to them at the affordable market rate of N5.
With the first production, aside from the sealing machine, I spent all the remaining money on materials, expecting to make a considerable profit. Unfortunately, all the products were rejected by the buyers. According to the customers, the ingredients were not mixed properly, were undissolved in water, and had inaccurate quantity measurements.
Regarding the loss and disappointment to existing and potential customers, I realized that having a degree is not enough; one must learn a lesson properly from practicing entrepreneurs before starting a business.
Again, I borrowed ten thousand naira (N10, 000) from a friend, went back to the industry for training, paid a higher amount, bought ingredients, and started the business in another market. The product was accepted in the new market and later introduced back to the previous local community.
Conclusively, aspiring youth entrepreneurs should understand the theory and concept of entrepreneurship education, learning by practice to accelerate growth and business innovation.Â
Written by:
Rafiu A. Olaore (MSc, Entrepreneurship), MBA, (BSc, Entrepreneurship). CEO/Executive Director. Youths Enterprise Development and Innovation Society (YEDIS). Suite B10, 1st Floor, Ebony Plaza, Ayetoro, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria. Website: https://yedis.org. Email: info@yedis.org WhatsApp: +2347054997660
YEDIS is a nonprofit organization that supports young people, local business owners, and apprentices (primarily girls and young women) through community business associations and youth social groups. The empowerment supports include entrepreneurship training, skill acquisition, and distribution of business support funds and vocational tools to motivate the nascent entrepreneurs. Moreover, it embarks on entrepreneurship education orientation and capacity-building seminars for young students in local community schools. The commitment governs through the YEDIS management team in collaboration with community business association leaders and youth social groups for transparency and effective service delivery. The objective is to promote decent jobs and sustainable businesses among rural young people by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, innovative business models, motivation, and regular mentorship.