IB Plc unveils scheme to check unemployment
THE International Breweries Plc, has stated that its Kickstart Initiative is aimed at addressing the high rate of unemployment currently estimated at 33 per cent.
The Managing Director, International Breweries Plc, Mr. Hugo Rocha, at the seventh edition of its 2022 kickstart awards ceremony in Lagos, tagged “Championing social investment for youth empowerment and economic development”, said so far, the Kickstart scheme has positively impacted 1,608 direct beneficiaries and more than 3,000 indirect beneficiaries.
According to him, the Kickstart Initiative has impacted many lives through entrepreneurship support, therefore contributing to the desired change in the Nigerian SME landscape where he said about 97 per cent of the entrepreneurs surveyed admitted that their participation in the Kickstart bootcamp significantly improved their ability to run any business.
He noted that with an investment of N385 million and the provision of 571 jobs, the International Breweries Foundation has been empowering awardees with intensive business training, a significant amount of grants, and post- training mentorship that ensures that they are not left to figure out the entrepreneurship journey on their own.
"The fact that many young Nigerians have been impacted positively is one of the reasons the initiative gives me personal fulfilment.
"According to the National
Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s rate of unemployment is at 33 per cent with 42.5 per cent of that segment being youths. Add the World Bank’s 2022 Poverty Assessment Report, which shows that as many as four in ten Nigerians live below the national poverty line, and you will all agree with me that we have a huge challenge on our hands. Government cannot do it all. This requires all hands to be on deck," he advised.
Rocha added: "What the International Breweries Foundation has done is take the lead by introducing Kickstart as a veritable intervention for this purpose. With business focus areas ranging from agriculture, renewable energy, water stewardship, distributorship, ICT, to many other fields, the depth of talent and innovation on display in the current and previous Kickstart Entrepreneurship cohorts have shown that there is indeed great hope."
He pointed out that the idea behind Kickstart is not just to empower or enrich an individual, but to raise entrepreneurs with thriving businesses who will become employers themselves, thereby acting as catalysts for taking other people out of unemployment in the country.
Also speaking, the Chairman, International Breweries Foundation, Mr. Peter Bamkole, said the level of success the company has recorded over the years courtesy of the initiative remains gratifying, stressing that over 7,000 applications received this year is a testament to the fact.