Prince’s Trust, JAN train young people in entrepreneurship, business mgt

Prince’s Trust International, in partnership with Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), has launched an Enterprise Challenge Programme in Nigeria.

Founded by the Prince of Wales in 2015, and building on four decades of experience in the United Kingdom, Prince’s Trust collaborates with local partners around the world.

According to the organisers of the programme, the partnership supports young people to develop their entrepreneurial skills and business knowledge, and also gives them the chance to learn what it takes to run a business and be their own bosses.

Deputy Director of Global Delivery of Prince’s Trust, Rosanna Wakefield, noted that their programmes and interventions are present in 17 countries within the Commonwealth and beyond — across Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Europe — and that they have supported more than 35,000 young people worldwide since 2015.

Wakefield noted that the mission of the trust is to empower young people to learn, earn and thrive by providing opportunities for them to develop the skills and the confidence to succeed,to deliver tangible employment outcomes, and to build their own futures.

“We believe that every young person should have the chance to succeed. So, we are delighted to have launched the Enterprise Challenge Programme in Nigeria through this new partnership with Junior Achievement Nigeria,” Wakefield said.

She expressed optimism that the partnership will ensure that young people develop the necessary entrepreneurship skills to succeed in business, helping them to learn, earn and thrive.

“After a successful pilot, we look forward to continuing to work with Junior Achievement Nigeria to support more young people in the country,” she added.

The Executive Director of JAN, Foluso Gbadamosi, noted that JAN is part of the Junior Achievement Worldwide (JAWW), a non-profit economic education organisation with a 120-country network, with the vision of empowering young people to become conscientious business leaders.

She stated that since its inception in 1999, JAN has reached over one million students and young people in over 20,000 classrooms in all the 36 states across the country and the FCT through over 5000 volunteers.

She added that JAN leverages resources and expertise to deliver localised cutting-edge experiential programmes built on JAWW’s four pillars of Work Readiness, Entrepreneurship, Financial Literacy, and Digital Literacy to in- and out-of-school youths, ages 5 – 27, free of charge.

“For us at Junior Achievement Nigeria, it is about preparing young people to succeed in a global economy,” Gbadamosi said.

She stated that they not only equip participants with necessary skills to start and run their own businesses, but they also teach them relevant skills that will help them own their economic futures.

“We are grateful for this partnership with Prince’s Trust International which has helped us reach even more young people, set them on a journey to wealth creation, and position them to become conscientious business leaders,”Gbadamosi added.

The Enterprise Challenge Programme was implemented in Lagos and Oyo states. The Lagos schools were vita Christi College, Reedemer’s International School, Mbari Mbayo, and Liberty Bells. On the other hand, the Ibadan schools were Seed of Life College, and Queens School.

The programme has benefitted over 120 students, providing them with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of corporate ethical strategies and business concepts.

With the support of over 24 mentors, the students experienced real-life business scenarios where they produced, developed and marketed new products via the unique business simulation game.

The students also had the opportunity to develop their own innovative business ideas or propositions to solve modern societal, environmental and economic problems.

One of the participants from Seed of Life College, Ibadan, Olufisayo Mofeoluwa, said the programme had given him the opportunity to learn how to be financially prudent, and about teamwork, knowledge of the natural environment and resource control, while arming him with critical analytical skills on how to make sound business decisions.

“Thank you, Prince’s Trust International and Junior Achievement Nigeria, for giving me the opportunity to participate in the Enterprise Challenge Programme,” Mofeoluwa said.

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