LCCI mentors 50 SMEs under social responsibility scheme

As part of efforts to aid the creation of wealth and redistribution of income through entrepreneurship, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has commenced its mentoring programme for 2015.

With 50 young entrepreneurs selected for this year’s industry mentoring programme, the chamber noted that it remains committed to capacity building for Small and Medium Enterprises in the country.

In 2014, the chamber mentored 25 young entrepreneurs under its corporate social responsibility programme.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the programme in Lagos, recently, LCCI President, Remi Bello, restated the group’s commitment to building capacity through entrepreneurship mentoring, noting that it was a means of investing in the future of youths.

Bello, who was represented by the vice-president, Gabriel Idahosa said, “Mentoring is an informal method of education which enables high impact and quick connections to be made across enterprises. These connections transcend location, vocation and generations, enabling individuals to brainstorm, innovate, create and develop breakthrough ideas on how to improve their business processes as well as solve problems facing their businesses.

“For us at the LCCI, focusing this developmental initiative on the youth is a means of investing in their future thereby guaranteeing better tomorrow for our country.”

On his part, the chamber’s Director-General, Muda Yusuf, stressed the need for young people to embrace enterprise, noting that the only way to create jobs, redistribute income and make lives better was to promote enterprise.

He said, “This economy is a very big economy, you have a population of 170 million people. That is a very big market. So there is a whole lot that can be done in the enterprise space to take advantage of this economy.”

He added that a lot of people sought to come to Nigeria from China, Malaysia and other countries to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that the Nigerian economy offers as the largest economy in the continent.

“What that tells you is that there are a lot of opportunities. What we are doing today is part of the process of encouraging you to take advantage of the opportunities that this economy presents,” he said.

In her keynote address, the Chairman, Board of Business Education Services and Training, LCCI, Mrs. Toki Mabogunje, said the body was preparing young entrepreneurs for the business world through six months of personal development and business management training.

Mabogunje who was represented by a member of the Board, Wole Ogunjobi said, “We are preparing them for the business world, thereby enabling them to ride on the waves and challenges in the environment in their quest for success.”

She added that one of the unit’s partners in the 2014 programme, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy had a programme known as ‘Youth Trade’ which addresses access to markets for the goods and services of young entrepreneurs.

The group stated that the increase in the number of young entrepreneurs selected for the training this year was made possible by Accenture, the consultancy firm which funded the programme as part of its social responsibility initiative tagged ‘skills to succeed’.

Accenture’s representative, Segun Olalanwo explained that the firm’s social responsibility initiative has a target to train at least one million entrepreneurs by 2020.