FATE Foundation has announced an expanded programme to support 1,000 entrepreneurs in the year.
The support is enabled by grant from the Mitsubishi International Contributions programme, which FATE Foundation has secured for the second year.
The theme for the programme is: “Realising an inclusive society”. It is aimed at boosting income generation for some young and female entrepreneurs and facilitating their development of agribusiness products/services.
In light of the pandemic, the support will be focused on Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to help their owners build resilience during the period.
In 2019, Mitsubishi Corporation supported FATE Foundation to help 40 young agribusiness entrepreneurs.
One of the graduates of the programme, Ante Joseph, who owns Lagos-based Maatalous Nasah, said: “My business was able to survive last year due to the knowledge and support we received from FATE Foundation and Mitsubishi Corporation for the Aspiring Entrepreneurs Agribusiness programme. I was able to grow my business by 28 per cent and with all I learnt, I am putting in structures in place for long-term sustainability and impact.”
The Executive Director of FATE Foundation Adenike Adeyemi, noted: “We are elated about the positive outcomes of our last partnership engagement with Mitsubishi Corporation Nigeria and we remain committed to supporting young entrepreneurs contribute to the economic recovery of our nation after the COVID-19 pandemic and are excited to continue working with Mitsubishi Corporation to reach more entrepreneurs this year.”
The programme will enable FATE Foundation will provide a package of support, including business management knowledge for agribusiness entrepreneurs; targeted support for female-led businesses in building business resilience; access to a free business plan development tool and expanding increased knowledge of the agribusiness ecosystem in target locations in Nigeria. The expected reach is over 1,000 entrepreneurs across Nigeria.”
Managing Director, Mitsubishi Corporation Nigeria, Makoto Saito, said: “Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is very happy to collaborate with FATE Foundation to reach even more entrepreneurs, particularly young and female entrepreneurs who have been more affected by the pandemic. This is in line with MC’s social contribution project of supporting programmes and projects around realisation of a truly inclusive society for indigenous peoples.
“MC is committed to ensuring continued impact in the areas of job creation and business sustainability and are excited to support FATE Foundation to deepen and scale programmes that enable Nigerian entrepreneurs, particularly vulnerable segments start, grow and scale businesses and generate employment.”
Starting in February 2021, the main programmes that will be rolled out through this year will be the Aspiring Entrepreneurs Agribusiness for young entrepreneurs; the Business Recovery Programme for female entrepreneurs; a Business Plan Developer tool; and a Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem mapping platform for Agribusiness stakeholders.
– The Nation
