The Guardian (Nigeria)

IB Plc unveils scheme to check unemployme­nt

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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.

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