The prevalence of economy crisis and struggle in doing business which has significantly impacted the standard of living is now a cross-border reality.
As an intervention, the Central Bank of Nigeria has said it will support youths in tertiary institutions with grants to promote entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment.
On Wednesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made this known in a report titled “Guideliness for the implementation of tertiary institutions entrepreneurship scheme”.
“Five top Nigerian polytechnics and universities with the best entrepreneurial pitches/ideas shall be awarded as follows: first place – N150m; second place – N120m; third place – N100m; fourth place – N80m; and fifth place – N50m,” it held.
It further disclosed that activities to be covered under the scheme would include innovative start-ups and existing businesses owned by graduates of Nigerian polytechnics and universities in areas such as agribusiness, information technology, creative industry, as well as science and technology.
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Agribusiness, the apex bank said would include production, processing, storage and logistics, while information technology would include application/software development, business process outsourcing, robotics and data management.
According to the report, the interest rate will be five per cent per annum and nine per cent effective from March 1, 2022 or as may be prescribed by the CBN.
The report also highlighted that the creative industry would include entertainment, artwork, publishing, culinary/event management, fashion, photography, beauty/cosmetics; while science and technology would include medical innovation, robotics, ticketing systems, traffic systems, renewable energy, and waste management.