(YESGrant) for young Nigerians on Tuesday 22nd March 2016.
According to the Director of Communications Miss. Owomilere Obe, the scheme was borne out of the need to address the enormous challenges young
people go through in their quest towards achieving set goals in their small scale businesses and in their academic pursuits. She noted that the grant will enable young entrepreneurial postulants with creative ideas in Agriculture, ICT and creative industry start or expand their business
concepts and provide over 500 Nigerian students schooling locally or abroad with tuition to pursue their academic dreams and aspiration in the areas of research and technological/scientific innovation.
“The main objective of the NYPF (YESGrant) Programme is to deepen the Nigerian economy by deliberately encouraging and supporting aspiring entrepreneurs in Nigeria to develop and execute business ideas that will lead to massive job creation and also paying tuition for indigent students so that they can be relevant to the society by having relevant skills that employer’s needs. Jobs are a foundation of economic and social development, improving living standards, productivity and social cohesion.
Jobs are responsible for moving people out of poverty”. She said.
Owomilere, therefore encouraged all to apply through the grants online
application system that will be available at www.yesgrant.com and provide
all supporting documentation on or before June 2016 to be eligible for the
first year disbursement to award recipients in August 2016.
To qualify for YESGrant, prospective recipients must be between the ages
of 18- 40, be registered members of the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum
(NYPF), and be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
using their registered companies and have an account with Heritage Bank
prior to disbursement of fund. Student’s award recipients must In addition
provide their matriculation number and academic progression report.
Speaking during the launch of the YESGrant Scheme by the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum in partnership with Heritage Bank, which took place at the Four Point Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria.
Chairman, NYPF, Moses Siloko Siasia, (erstwhile Governorship candidate Bayelsa state) said he was inspired by the big impact small businesses can have on the economy and that was why the grant was created to provide incubator support to enable young entrepreneurial postulants with creative ideas in Agriculture, ICT and creative economy start or expand their business concepts in those areas.
 |
| Moses Siloko Siasia |
"I have built businesses from the scratch and I understand the challenges people face and that is why I am optimistic that if given the necessary support, young Nigerians will not only grow the Nigerian economy, they will completely revolutionize it."
The Nigerian Young Professionals Forum, a non-governmental organisation that has been in the forefront lead of building the next generation of business frontiers through intervention programmes for young Nigerians.
 |
| Moses Siloko Siasia (Middle) with The NYPF team |
In 2015, over 1000 carefully selected entrepreneurs made up of young business
owners residing in Nigeria and in the Diaspora met at the International
Conference Centre in Abuja for the debut of the Young Nigerians CEO’s Conference and Exhibition 2015 organized by the NYPF. The conference with the theme, “Promoting Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Building Economic Leaders for Tomorrow” afforded young entrepreneurs in Nigeria the opportunity to exchange ideas with their peers from other parts of the world and also served as a platform for the young business owners to discuss challenges they encounter in their operations and its impact on the Nigerian economy.
Interested beneficiaries should visit www.yesgrant.com and register as a member of NYPF to access the grant.
