The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, SMEDAN, is seeking collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to promote locally made products and create more economic opportunities for young Nigerians.
The SMEDAN Director-General, Charles Odii, made the call in Abuja when he led a delegation of the agency on a courtesy visit to the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede.
Odii said SMEDAN is implementing programmes aimed at equipping young Nigerians with practical skills and transforming them into entrepreneurs.
According to him, the agency has secured approval from the Ministry of Education to establish the Inspire, Create, Start and Scale, ICSS, Institute, which will offer National Diploma programmes while integrating entrepreneurship into the training.
Odii also called for collaboration between SMEDAN and the EFCC Cybersecurity Research and Training Centre, particularly in developing programmes that can equip young people with skills and provide alternatives to cybercrime.
Responding, the EFCC Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, welcomed the proposed partnership and pledged the Commission’s support for youth empowerment, skills development, promotion of Nigerian-made products and cybercrime prevention.
Olukoyede said providing legitimate skills and economic opportunities for young Nigerians is important to addressing youth involvement in cybercrime.
He invited SMEDAN to participate in the development and operation of the EFCC’s Cybersecurity Research and Training Centre, which he said is expected to train an average of five hundred people at a time.
The EFCC Chairman also urged Nigerians to patronise locally produced goods, saying the growth of indigenous businesses would contribute to national economic development.
Both agencies agreed on the need to explore practical solutions to youth involvement in crime while promoting skills development, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunities.
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Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
