By Idowu Gabriel

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) on Thursday trained 100 young business owners under its Young Business Owners Programme of Nigeria (Y-BOY) programme.

The Agency’s Manager in Ekiti, Mr Tomi Ikuomola, said at the opening of the training in Ado Ekiti, that the capacity building was part of the Federal Government’s efforts to boost the economy.

Ikuomola added that after the training, the 100 beneficiaries would be given N5 million as assistance to enable them acquire business space, which remains a major challenge of startup businesses.

“Nigeria youths are productive, innovative and creative. All they need is a little support and they will make it out there.

“I am confident that the Y-BOY programme will boost the capacity and management abilities of young business owners in the country and equip them with the necessary skills to expand their business.

“This will impact positively on the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Ikuomola said.

He urged the beneficiaries to make the best use of the opportunity to grow their businesses into successful one and grow to become huge employers of labour.

The Resource Person, Mallam Haruna Shuaibu, took the participants through the rudiments of effective marketing and how to access funds to grow their businesses.

One of the beneficiaries, Ms Joyce Daodu, thanked SMEDAN for the support and promised to use the skills acquired to impact positively on their businesses