Mrs Elizabeth Wapmuk, Plateau State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, has reiterated the commitment of the state government to supporting student entrepreneurs raised under the Students Entrepreneurship Activity-Hub (SEA-Hub) programme.
Wapmuk, who was speaking during a media tour of secondary schools participating in the SEA-Hub programme in Jos on Thursday, expressed optimism that students who take advantage of the programme would become job creators.
“Our projection as a government is that these students will show promise and utilise the opportunity presented through this programme to become entrepreneurs and job creators in the future.
“What we are doing is to groom them to become self-reliant and responsible adults by providing starter packs, grants and enabling environment for their entrepreneurial ideas to flourish.
“We are very pleased that Plateau is one of the focal states in the SEA-Hub project, which is assisting our students in brushing their entrepreneurship and financial management skills,” she said.
SEA-Hub is Students Entrepreneurship Activities-Hub, a Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria Programme (SEDAN), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Nigeria.
The programme introduces basic entrepreneurship training to secondary school students, who then create SEA-Hub clubs in their schools with the aim of carrying out entrepreneurial projects as co-curricular activities.
Piloted in Niger State in 2016, it is currently being implemented in Niger, Ogun, Plateau, Edo, Lagos, Yobe, Kaduna, Delta, Imo, Osun and Oyo states.
Since the inception of SEA-Hub, over 30,000 students have been reached in 342 schools across the participating states.
Speaking at the event, Mr Babafemi Oyediran, SEA-Hub Project Lead for GIZ, expressed delight at the goodwill the project has been enjoying from the state government, leading to its massive success.
“To underscore the positive impact the programme has created among secondary schools, SEA-Hub has been captured in the new Plateau State Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Policy.
“The state is also the only focal point state where SEA-Hub is being implemented in all its 17 LGAs. Students even carry out community development projects as a way of giving back.
“Students are creating mini-businesses with little or no funds to practice real-time entrepreneurship and are getting necessary support and mentorship,” he said.
With the support of partners, more than 300 secondary school leavers trained under the programme have set up personal businesses, while also implementing community projects as part of social responsibility.
One of such partners is the Jos Business School, whose founder, Mr Ezekiel Gomos, pledged further support to scale up activities under SEA-Hub.
“We want to scale up by selecting five alumni of the project each year. Beneficiaries will be given further training to advance their business ideas.
“We will also provide mentorship and hand-holding to ensure their continuous growth. We will also collaborate with private sector players to institutionalise SEA-Hub,” he said.
Beneficiaries of SEA-Hub from Government Secondary School Tudun Wada, Government Secondary School Township and Government Secondary School Chwel Nyup, all in Jos metropolis, made presentations at the event. (NAN)
