Ninety-five young people from the South-East have been equipped with vocational skills, equipment, and start-up capital under a Federal Government empowerment initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and self-reliance.
The beneficiaries, drawn from the 95 local government areas across Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo states, completed the Skill-Up South East Programme and received sewing machines alongside financial support to enable them to establish fashion businesses immediately.
The empowerment programme was held on Sunday at the Ecumenical Centre, Abakaliki, as part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Designed to promote practical skills acquisition and business sustainability, the initiative focused on ensuring that participants are equipped not only to earn a livelihood but also to build viable enterprises.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-East), Hon. Barr. Chioma Nweze, said the programme was intended to make participants self-reliant, noting that many of the beneficiaries had no prior vocational experience before undergoing the training.
“The programme gave them more than vocational training. It equipped them with business and financial management skills because training without the ability to sustain a business can limit economic growth. Today, they leave not only with skills but also with tools and support to begin their entrepreneurial journeys,” she said.
Nweze observed that the South-East has a strong reputation for enterprise and innovation, adding that equipping young people with practical skills and business knowledge would contribute directly to the region’s economic development.
She further stated that the Office of the Senior Special Assistant would continue to expand empowerment initiatives covering skills acquisition, healthcare, education, and grassroots engagement to ensure that more communities benefit from government interventions.
With marketable skills, equipment, and start-up capital now at their disposal, the graduates are expected to transition from job seekers to job creators, thereby contributing to employment generation and economic growth.
