Over 30,000 secondary school students in Nigeria who are enrolled in the Pro-poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria Programme-SEDIN, which is run by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), have received basic entrepreneurship training.
The FCT, 10 states (Niger, Ogun, Plateau, Edo, Lagos, Yobe, Kaduna, Delta, Imo, Osun), 64 LGAs, and six geopolitical zones of the nation are all home to the extracurricular Students Entrepreneurship Activity – Hub (SEA-Hub), which was formed in 342 secondary schools worldwide.
Markus Wauschkuhn, Head of Cluster, Sustainable Economic Development, GIZ Nigeria, revealed that SEDIN launched the SEA-Hub as part of its campaign to reduce youth unemployment in Nigeria. The SEA-Hub aims to provide secondary schools with fundamental entrepreneurship training in order to better prepare students for life now and after graduation.
Over 300 SEA-Hub grads, or 1-2 jobs, are reportedly starting their own enterprises, according to HIM. Directly or indirectly, more than 700 teachers have been impacted, and several of them are apparently starting their own businesses. 18 Federal Unity Colleges from all six geopolitical zones were used as the pilot program at the federal level. Students at the SEA-Hub now carry out CSR projects using the money they make from their businesses.
The SEA-Hub program, according to Markus, “began in 2016 with pilots in three LGAs of Niger State, and has since been scaled out to four states — Niger, Ogun, Plateau, and Edo. About 394 secondary schools took part in the SEA-Hub training, and 256 secondary schools throughout our current partner states have active SEA-Hubs in their schools where they are engaging in a variety of empowering entrepreneurial activities.
Students at SEA-Hub develop an innovative and critical entrepreneurial thinking skill for self-reliance, according to Oladoyin Olawaiye, component lead for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship at GIZ-SEDIN. The idea encourages opportunity recognition, innovation, taking calculated risks, and critical thinking. Students are given advice on how to start and run an entrepreneurship-focused club in their respective schools.
According to Babafemi Oyediran, project manager for SEA-Hub, the strategy is as follows: SEDIN trains selected students and teachers from identified schools; students organize weekly extracurricular SEA-Hub club meetings; and students start mini-businesses with little to no funding to practice real-world entrepreneurship.
“They receive ongoing mentoring from successful businesspeople as well as assistance from the neighborhood business community. They engage in entrepreneurship competitions and fairs for SEA-Hub schools and make routine trips to nearby businesses, he said.
The pilot program began in Kontagora, Bida, and Borgu LGAs in 2016 before being expanded to Suleja, Bosso, Wushishi, and Agaie LGAs in Nigeria, Shagamu, Ijebu Ode, Waterside, Yewa North, Abeokuta North, Remo North, and Ijebu North LGAs in Ogun State, and Mangu, Bokkos, Shendam, Bassa, Pankshin, Jo
SEA-reach Hub’s increased in 2018 to include the Niger state LGAs of Rafi, Shiroro, Rijau, and Lavun; the Ogun state LGAs of Abeokuta South, Ipokia, Ikene, and Yewa South; and the Plateau state LGAs of Barki Ldi, Jos North, Langtang South, and Kanam.
2019 saw the addition of the local government areas (LGAs) Mokwa, Chanchaga, Paiko, and Lapai in Niger state; Odogbolu, Ijebu North-East, Ewekoro, and Adoda-Ota in Ogun state; Jos East and Riyo in Plateau state; and Egor and Oredo in Edo state.
