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The Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Hon. Mobolaji Ogunlende, has stated that over 70 percent of the youths in Lagos are entrepreneurs requiring fiscal and enterprising support to upscale their businesses.
Ogunlende made this remark while speaking with journalists on Tuesday during the Amplifier Business Clinic pitch competition where investors and judges listened to 35 business pitches after a leadership and business training masterclass for over 100 participants.
The Commissioner also reiterated Lagos State Government’s commitment to empowering young entrepreneurs through the Amplifier Business Clinic, a flagship programme in partnership with Pelse Consulting, designed to sharpen entrepreneurial skills and provide access to grants, mentorship and strategic networks.
At the third cohort of the pitch competition, he emphasized that not every graduate will land a white-collar job, making entrepreneurship a vital path to survival in Nigeria’s challenging economic terrain.
According to the Commissioner, an estimated 70 – 80 percent of Lagos youths are already engaged in various entrepreneurial ventures, driven by the necessity of multiple income streams in a difficult economy.
“Our goal is to amplify what they are already doing, expose them to investors, and give them the foundation to scale their businesses,” he said.
He stressed that the initiative is open, transparent and merit-driven, noting that applicants do not require personal connections to qualify.
“The programme goes beyond disbursing grants, offering participants valuable lessons in leadership, financial literacy, pitching and presentation skills.
“Even if you don’t win a grant, the knowledge and exposure you gain positions you to perform better in business,” the Commissioner explained.
The Commissioner linked youth empowerment directly to the fight against poverty and crime, arguing that gainful engagement reduces the lure of negative vices in society.
“When young people know they must show up, deliver results and get paid, they abandon illegal activities and gradually drop those habits,” he asserted.
On his part, the Managing Partner of Pelse Consulting, Adeniji Oluwafemi Boboye, asserted that the goal of the initiative is to ensure that young people who have started to create value via a business get to understand how do build right.
“We help them learn how to put the right structure into what they’re doing and then continue to live a decent life as a person first before they begin to scale and grow by employing further people with the business.
“In the last four years, the Amplifier Business Clinic has been an awesome experience seeing businesses grow with better understanding as participants take their businesses to the next stage.
“To effectively build organizations that can become multi-million dollar or multi-billion dollar investments that have legacy and can probably outlive the founders, this kind of training is needed. We are happy to see that a lot of young people who have passed through this programme are doing amazing stuff,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary to the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Pharm. (Mrs.) Oluwatoyin Oke-Osanyintolu, opined that for more effectiveness the Amplifier Business Clinic would be structured to hold simultaneously at the five sub-divisions of the state, which are; Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe, and Lagos Island.
“We are trying to ensure that the program gets to more youth that require it. When you tell somebody in Badagry to come all the way to Ikeja for a 2 or 3 day programme, there might be the problem of transportation. So, we are thinking of decentralizing the training and having the training in all the five divisions. However, the grand finale will be held in Ikeja,” she remarked.
Giving her remarks, one of the participants and Founder of Ofada Hub, Amina Kazeem, said; “This has been an excellent programme. They taught us about finance, business plan, the art of pitching, understanding your market, customer service, among others.
“One area that I am already looking forward to implementing is the customer aspect, especially the utilisation of customers feedback for the sustainability and growth of my business. Customers feedback is vital and I would utilise this to understand how best to serve them and how to adjust my offerings and services to what the customer wants.
“Beyond generating funds, I also learnt that businesses must be solving a problem or providing a solution because that it what makes the business sustainable.”
