A total of 1,400 women in Ondo state are currently undergoing a training program on various aspects of entrepreneurship.
The initiative is a partnership between Ondo state government and the Enterprise Development Center (EDC) of the Pan Atlantic University in Lagos.
At an opening ceremony, marking the beginning of the 3-day training in Akure on Monday, the state governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, said his administration is committed to empowering small scale businesses to drive the economy of the state.
Represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, the governor thanked EDC for agreeing to help train young women in the state, charging the participants to pay attention to every detail during the program.
He said, “We are truly committed to empowering women-owned businesses and small scale businesses in the state by supporting them with entrepreneurial skills and grants.
“In walking the talk, we have launched several programs in the areas of skill acquisition and entrepreneurship to ensure our teeming youths become job providers rather than looking for white collar jobs”
He urged the women to remain focused and see the training as an opportunity to improve on their existing skills and acquire new ones needed to be successful in their respective endeavors.
In her remarks, Special Adviser to the Governor on Gender, Olamide Falana, whose office coordinates the training, disclosed that the program was initially designed to train 200 females but received over 2,000 applications and had to expand it to 1,400 trainees.
According to her, “this acceptance is a sign of the openness of our populace to capacity building and readiness to take on the world of business through entrepreneurship which remains the new oil and solution to unemployment and underemployment”
She thanked Governor Aiyedatiwa for paying attention to entrepreneurship and skill acquisition, urging the participants to advantage of the training as an opportunity to upskill and be self-reliant.
Speaking on behalf of EDC, Sidiq Deem, assured of the institution’s commitment to deliver quality training to the participants.
