Using Social Entrepreneurship to tackle unemployment in Nigeria

In a bid to tackle unemployment in Nigeria, young graduates are being trained to employ business model to solve social problems, as social entrepreneurs.

Unemployment is a big challenge in Nigeria.  The National Bureau of Statistics estimates that about 23.9% of the entire population is currently unemployed. There were at least 16million unemployed people as at December 2011. The consequence of massive unemployment is grave. Political economist Prof Pat Utomi says the unemployment situation in the country is a time-bomb that can explode anytime. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo also remarks that the mass of unemployed people in the country may spark up a youth revolution soon. Already, some of the unemployed have been implicated in crime, electoral violence and even terrorist activities. This is reason strategic steps must be taken to address the situation before it explodes.

Tayo Olosunde, Principal Partner at E-green Services and the convener of the training, believes that social entrepreneurship is really the way to go. He says ‘there is a gamut of social challenges in the country. They offer opportunities for young people to make a difference in their community and become gainfully employed. Social Entrepreneurship Incubation Training is a viable platform to address the current unemployment challenge.’

He adds, ‘there are several testimonies we have of young people who have passed through our trainings and are currently making impact. A good example is Otto Orondaam. The young man initiated Slum2School project through which over 300 children in Makoko, a slum in Lagos, who have never been to school are now enrolled. Kenechukwu Chizoba started Waste2Wealth to raise awareness about proper waste management and recycling. Temitope Adewoye initiated Neighborhood Study Group, to promote study groups among teenagers in Makoko. We want more people to join the train’

The training director, Olatunji Ajani, asserts that ‘we found out that social entrepreneurship is the perfect way to re-align the odds of unemployment an under development in the country. It is a useful platform where the energy and passion of the unemployed can be diverted in order to meet developmental needs of the nation while they create jobs for themselves.’

Nigeria’s ICT Ambassador and Ashoka Fellow, Gbenga Sesan commenting about the training modules, says ‘I’ve thoroughly looked through this and must say it is well thought out. It is detailed and I imagine that delivery will be exciting. I wish someone taught me this before I started out. This is for corps members, but it is applicable to even people who already see themselves as social entrepreneurs.’

The current training is targeted at corps members in Lagos State, the economic capital of Nigeria. It will run for 4 weeks in November.

For more information about training, kindly contact the Director of Training, E-green Services-Mr Olatunji Ajani on +2348099676999 or olatunjiajani@gmail.com