 has said that copious investment in entrepreneur culture and the youth are panacea to rising unemployment){kind=link}
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Tony Elumelu, founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has said that copious investment in entrepreneur culture and the youth are panacea to rising unemployment which undermines economic growth.
He spoke on Sunday in Abuja at the Nigerian Bar Association annual general conference.
Tony Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, enjoined stakeholders across the country to lead the nation building, by renewing the country’s infrastructure, which he said included deployment of resources to help the young live their Nigerian dreams.
“We need to renew our commitment to our youth, provide them with the means to succeed in Nigeria – not beyond Nigeria. This means not just investment in our education system, but in our entrepreneurial culture,” said Elumelu.
“Nigeria is a nation of entrepreneurs – you know me as an investor and champion of entrepreneurs – I know the social and economic returns entrepreneurship creates. – Let us create a joined-up government task force to champion at the highest level, our young and our entrepreneurs.When entrepreneurs succeed, we succeed as a nation. If they don’t, we all fail,” said Elumelu.
Stakeholders have to really pull their resources together and provide capital to young hard working Nigerians to start up their own businesses because the number of people in this category who do not have any form of job is astronomical.
The multinational consulting firm KPMG, in a newly released report tagged ‘KPMG Global Economy Outlook report, H1 2023,’ has stated that the Nigerian unemployment rate had increased to 37.7per cent in 2022 and will further rise to 40.6per cent, due to the continuing inflow of job seekers into the job market.
The report stated that unemployment will continue to be a challenge due to the slower-than-required economic growth and the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year.
According to a recent World Bank report, as many as 4 in 10 Nigerians live below the national poverty line.
According to United Nation’ projections, Nigeria will be the fourth most populated country on earth with 375 million people, with youths accounting for about 262 million of the population.
Out of an abundance of wealth and show of utmost kindness and magnanimity, Tony Elumelu and his wife, committed 100 million to help democratize luck and empower our youth, through The Tony Elumelu Foundation, giving annual non-refundable grants of $5,000 seed capital to each beneficiary, now received by over 18,000 young Africans.
Elumelu, who delivered a stirring address at the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) Annual General Conference yesterday, has an unflinching conviction that the ultimate panacea for insecurity and extremism is prosperity.
Speaking before a distinguished audience, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the philanthropist and investor underscored the imperative of nation building in Nigeria.
Elumelu stressed that nurturing of entrepreneurship is not merely an economic endeavour, but a social responsibility as he has a conviction that by empowering the country’s youth, supporting start-ups and SMEs, the private sector contributes to equitable wealth distribution, job creation, and social advancement.
“It paves the way for economic empowerment that uplifts communities and contributes to a more inclusive society. We all owe this to our people, even for our own enlightened self-interest,” said Elumelu.
Elumelu terms his compassionate concept directed towards nation building as Africapitalism, which entails: conscious capitalism, fair-minded capitalism, equitable capitalism, shared values and shared value, shared destiny, and shared prosperity.
“Poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere. This is why all of us must think of legacy and play our role and part now, that we can, to urgently support our young ones to become economically engaged, else we are doomed,” summed Elumelu.