Over 80 young Nigerians yesterday graduated from the latest cohort of the Youth Sustainable Enterprise Challenge (YSEC) 2025 funded by the British Council in collaboration with King’s Trust International, an organisation established by King Charles III, the UK monarch.
The event which took place in Abuja witnessed the presence of government officials, representatives of the British Council in Nigeria and King’s Trust as well as those of the coordinators of the initiative, Octoville Development Company.
YSEC, a programme designed to strengthen youth entrepreneurship across Nigeria, has expanded its reach to several parts of the country, offering young Nigerians aged 18 to 35 the opportunity to develop their business ideas through structured training, mentorship, and grant support.
At the 2025 edition of the programme which also had a pitch competition, where top candidates presented their ventures for grant funding, Director of Programmes the British Council, Chikodi Onyemerela, said the initiative started in Nigeria three years ago to support young people’s aspiration and provide them opportunity for alternative but sustainable livelihood.
He noted that the initiative helps provide skills for young people across five states in Nigeria, including Abuja, Lagos, Rivers, Kano State as well Enugu, explaining that the intention is to provide these skills for young people to be able to start their own businesses and give them sustainable entrepreneurial skills.
For those who may not be entrepreneurship-minded, Onyemerela noted that they are also impacted with the needed requirement to enhance their employability and contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country.
For those who choose the entrepreneurial route, Onyemerela stated that they are taught how to improve on products and services, innovate new ones, and harness new ideas that are indigenous to the country.
Also speaking, Chief Executive of Octoville, Nelson Okwonna, said that the programme is different because it focuses on young people between the ages of 18 to 35, who have a passion for national development and who have already taken the step to start incorporating their businesses.
“We are looking for people who are already willing, interested and capable. And we are now working with them to make that happen,” he added.
He explained that aside from impacting the beneficiaries with the needed skills, some of them will get grants to start their businesses.
In an interview, the Special Assistant to the Minister of Youth Development on Gender Matters, Kehinde Awujoola, highlighted the plan of the Bola Tinubu administration to continue to collaborate with the private sector in terms of providing employment opportunities for Nigerians.
While the federal government continues to provide opportunities for Nigerian youths, Awujoola noted that the ministry headed by Ayodele Olawande will continue to operate an open door policy.
“The minister has been operating an open-door policy system, to bring in organisations like Octoville, bring them to the table, and see how they can collaborate, co-create, and see how we can help the Nigerian youth,” she said.
Also in her remarks, Country Director, King’s Trust International, Damilola Sotiminu urged the beneficiaries to be resilient in the face of challenges.
Emmanuel Addeh
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