The U.S. Department of State’s Alumni Engagement Innovation Fund (AEIF) has partnered with a firm, iStarter Hub, to train young girls in entrepreneurship and skill acquisition in Lagos State.
Founder, iStarter Hub, Modupe Adeoye, who spoke at the closing ceremony of the training programme tagged: ‘The Girls Creativity Hub Cohort 1’, said the training was to ensure that young girls are empowered, safe, and made resourceful.
She said iStarter Hub, in partnership with the Leader of Isolo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Remy Shittu, got the support and sponsorship from the U.S Consulate in Lagos under the AEIF funding grant.
She noted that with the Girls Creativity Hub initiative, iStarter Hub is taking girls and young women off the street who have found themselves in a difficult situation they do not have control over, to help them become skilled and productive during their gap year(s).
“The Girls Creativity Hub initiative is an intensive creative designing and entrepreneurship skills acquisition programme that would see 100 young girls between the ages of 16 and 25 years old engaged productively, learning the act of putting their creative minds to creating jobs and adding value to self and the society. The first batch is being graduated today and there will be other batches with each expected to run for 10 weeks.
“The training entails graphics designing using Corel draw, canvas; heat transfer, photography, entrepreneurship t-Shirt, and souvenir printing as well as internship and mentorship,” adeoye said.
According to Modupe, iStarter Hub provides a safe space for young people and women, where they can come to gain access to resources that enable their creative expressions.
“iStarter Hub provides enabling environment for young people and women to meet, work, learn and collaborate. New Data from the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics stated that only 26% of the 10 million young people that wrote JAMB between 2010 and 2015 got admission into the university. Needless to say, we had 7,400,000 young people who did not go to a tertiary institution for 5 straight years – technically, they advanced to become unemployed youth even before they got the opportunity to acquire the education they need.
“The project is committed to funding the three most outstanding beneficiaries with startup resources and a small fund to kickstart their business in the Printing and Branding industry. These awards shall be presented at the end of the program to the winners.
“We intend setting up more business hub clusters around town for a number of our beneficiaries with support from our project partners and stakeholders,” She said.
Leader of Isolo Local Council Development Area Remy Shittu emphasised that any outstanding participant from each of the batches stands a chance to receive startup resources and a small fund to kick start their business in the printing and branding industry.
One of the participants, Miss Divine Alibe said: “It has been a wonderful experience and I am ready to market my skill. My experience throughout the training has been amazing. I’ve learned the basics of graphic designing, screen printing, digital printing as well as leadership skills, storytelling, and strategies for business development among other things.
The Nation
