300 young Nigerian entrepreneurs are set to receive N90 million in equipment grants from the MTN Foundation, following the conclusion of the sixth phase of the ICT and Business Skills training.
The entrepreneurs were announced during the closing ceremony held virtually. Present at the ceremony were the governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. William Alo, chief technology officer, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, Jonas Nzeagwu and special adviser, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Enugu State Government, Arinze Chilo-Offiah, among others.
In his goodwill message during the ceremony, governor of Edo state, Godwin Obaseki encouraged the participants to further improve on the skills they have learnt and also ensure that they uphold the value of giving back.
“The skills you have learnt over the past four weeks are applicable and I beg your support to continue to invest and improve on those skills. You should also understand that what you have done in the last four weeks is not an end in itself, if anything it’s just the beginning. Learning and upskilling is a lifelong experience, and you should continue to look for more opportunities to improve yourself.
“I must thank MTN. You have been phenomenal; I recall the support MTN gave to us during COVID-19 when we had to deploy the EdoBest platform for kids to learn. They provided the bandwidth so that the kids could continue learning during the lockdown. Once again congratulations to everyone,” he stressed.
Also speaking at the ceremony, director, MTN Foundation, Dennis Okoro pledged the commitment of the Foundation to invest in digital inclusion, while congratulating the entrepreneurs that participated in the training.
The ICT and Business Skills training was designed to equip young Nigerian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 – 35 years with digital skills that will be relevant to growing their businesses. This year, the training targeted at 3000 entrepreneurs in Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Kebbi, Niger, and Yobe states, was in partnership with Meta and Microsoft.