NYSC, SMEDAN to Deepen Partnership on Youth Empowerment

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) have signalled plans to deepen their partnership on youth empowerment and entrepreneurship development.

The Director-General of the NYSC, Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, stated this in Abuja during a visit by the Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr Charles Odii.

Nafiu described SMEDAN as a key stakeholder in the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, which he said had trained and empowered thousands of corps members to establish businesses across the country.

“SMEDAN is a key partner of NYSC because it has helped in birthing corps businesses that are contributing to Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP), thereby boosting the national economy,” Nafiu said.

He added that the scheme remained committed to policies and programmes that promote national unity, integration and socio-economic development, and would continue to prioritise the SAED programme.

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According to him, NYSC also plans to strengthen linkages with funding institutions to improve access to loans and grants for corps entrepreneurs.

The NYSC boss commended SMEDAN for its role in entrepreneurship advocacy, financial literacy, skills acquisition training and facilitation of access to funding, noting its impact across different value chains.

Earlier, Odii said there was a need to review the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both agencies to further enhance the empowerment of corps members with business skills and relevant tools.

He disclosed that SMEDAN currently supports more than 39 million small businesses nationwide and proposed the creation of a dedicated NYSC Community Development Service (CDS) group to increase awareness of SMEDAN programmes.

Odii described SMEDAN as the Federal Government’s apex institution for small business development, with responsibilities covering job creation, poverty reduction and industrial growth.

“Right from the orientation camp, we want corps members to become business development service providers,” he said.

He also said the agency was ready to train NYSC officials on skills that could enable them to become business owners after retirement.

The meeting underscores ongoing efforts by both agencies to strengthen youth entrepreneurship and expand opportunities for young Nigerians through skills development and enterprise support.