Employment excitement in Yenagoa as enterprise group reports 20,000 jobs

Panel in session at the youth enterprise summit in Yenagoa

Job creation and grants to businesses made waves in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, when the Niger Delta Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Summit (NDMSMES) took centre stage in the Ijaw-dominated state to showcase their activities in the past five years.

The group said it has awarded 650 grants and created 20,000 jobs as well as helped businesses to access free mentorship programmes to scale up their businesses since it started five years ago.

The fifth edition of the summit, which took place in Yenagoa in the week, organized by the ‘Niger Delta Young Professionals’ and its partners, brought together young innovators, policymakers, and business leaders from across the region to Yenagoa.

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Speaking at the summit with the theme: ‘Enhancing the Role of MSMEs as a Driver of Sustainable Growth and Innovation’, Moses Siloko Siasia, Convener of the Niger Delta Young Professionals, stated that their mission is to empower young business owners and strengthen economic growth in the region.

Siasia said: “We have given over 650 grants to support businesses, creating over 20,000 jobs. What we are doing is historic. We are building men and women who will stand the test of time.

“As young entrepreneurs, we are change makers in society. The future and destiny of this region lies in our hands. We must continue to work to bring the needed change.”

He urged young business owners to make proper use of the insights and knowledge they would acquire from the summit to transform their businesses.

Douye Diri, Bayelsa State Governor, who was represented by Nimibofa Ayawei, professor and Secretary to the State Government, noted that the government is committed to supporting initiatives to empower young people in the state.

Gov Diri urged participants to develop themselves through continuous learning of skills that would grow and sustain their businesses.

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His words: “Resources of the earth are diminishing. It is only those who act smart that will survive. If things are not working, you must find a way to do it better. You must be very intentional so you can succeed. At every level you find yourself, there are higher levels to explore.”

He commended the NDYP for its consistency in helping to nurture young entrepreneurs across the region in order to better the entrepreneurial landscape and urged participants to learn and apply the knowledge gained from the summit.

The keynote speaker, George Omoraro, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Rage Media, urged the participants to make a commitment towards re-educating themselves, upholding the right principles and taking positive actions to build the future they desire.

According to him, “Our environment is not a limitation. People who go through more adversity find themselves in better advantaged situations: it is you and your reactions that matter most, not the environment.”

Omoraro charged the young entrepreneurs to look beyond their challenges and see problems as opportunities to become better and successful.

Earlier, in his welcome address, Gerald Sogorge, the Coordinator, acknowledged the dedication of partners, speakers, and participants who continue to drive progress in the region’s MSME sector.

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This summit is the region’s premier platform for fostering sustainable growth and innovation within the vibrant youth entrepreneurship ecosystem. The event is a strategic response to the call for economic diversification, offering a tangible path to self-reliance and stability across the nine Niger Delta states.

The key goals of the summit are said to be to enhance the role of MSMEs as drivers of sustainable growth and innovation with the primary goal being to accelerate economic diversification and strengthen the entrepreneurial culture beyond oil.

The sector focus is indicated as discussions to emphasize emerging high-potential sectors like Agriculture, Technology, Renewable Energy, and the knowledge-driven economy.

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