The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),says it is developing a Tertiary Institutions’ Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES) to train and finance entrepreneurship initiatives of Nigerian university graduates.
The apex bank governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed this at the 35th Conference of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, emphasized the need to re-orientate youths from waiting for white-collar jobs to entrepreneurship.
He explained that the scheme would be developed to support the development of entrepreneurial culture, through the introduction of seamless access to affordable finance for graduates, and create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.
He was represented at the event by Dr Adebowale Olabimtan-Idowu, CBN Deputy Director, Development Finance.
He lamented that 600,000 graduates from the nation’s tertiary institutions enter the labour market annually, after participating in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, seeking the already saturated white-collar jobs.
He said the development has contributed significantly to the rising youth unemployment across the country.
He added that :“Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) portend great opportunities for addressing these gaps and accelerating economic growth by leveraging our vibrant youth population.”
He revealed that the bank was developing the Tertiary Institutions Entrepreneurship Scheme (TIES) to re-orientate, train and finance entrepreneurship ideas among our graduates.
“The scheme is designed to support the development of entrepreneurial mindsets and culture through the introduction of a platform that provides seamless access to affordable finance to graduates through innovative channels for participation.
“The proposed scheme will be targeted at graduates of tertiary institutions, including universities, polytechnics, monotechnic and colleges,” the CBN governor said.
