BENIN CITY – A German development agency, Deutsche Geselschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), in partnership with Edo State Skills Development Agency, also known as Edojobs, has equipped more than 3,000 secondary school students in Edo with entrepreneurial skills in the last three years.

Head, Economic Education and Entrepreneurship of GIZ, Miss Oladoyin Olawaiye, disclosed this at the Edo Student Entrepreneurship Activity Hub (SEA-Hub) Exhibition and Competition 2022, held in Benin on Wednesday.

Olawaiye stated that the students were trained under the SEA-Hub initiative which she described as a Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria Programme (SEDIN), geared towards reducing youth unemployment rate in Nigeria.

She explained that SEA-Hub is an intervention funded by German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ, adding that a number of SEA-hub clubs exist in some secondary schools in Edo State where Entrepreneurship Skills are thought and demonstrated.

“We are currently in 24 schools across the state, with plans to upscale to more schools, especially in rural areas.

“The SEA Hub journey in Edo started in 2019 and extra-curricular clubs were created in schools to help students build life-long skills and prepare them for the future,” she said.

Olawaiye said that 10 schools in the state participated in the SEA-Hub exhibition and competition which was a pilot programme.

“I am pleased to see the students display innovative works and products after we had trained them on entrepreneurship skills.

“The competition serves as an opportunity for young people to be part of nation-building and to begin to re-imagine the future they deserve,” she said.

In her remarks, Managing Director of Edo State Skills Development Agency, Mrs Ukinebo Dare, congratulated the students for keying into the life-changing opportunity to become solution providers at young age.

Dare added that the state government would partner more with GIZ to ensure that the entrepreneurship initiative was extended to more schools in the state.

Also, the Representative, Girls Power Initiative, Mrs May Ekido, said that her organisation decided to partner with GIZ in mobilising the schools that participated in the training and competition.

Ekido commended what she called the ‘catch-them-young’ initiative, noting, “the earlier we start grooming young children with relevant skills, the better the future will become for them.

“The students came up with innovative ideas and products which included reduction of carbon wastes in the environment, herbicides and relaxation furniture.”

High point of the event was the presentation of prizes to the three winning schools, which would also represent the state at the national competition in Abuja

The winners of the SEA-Hub Competition and exhibition at the event are: University Preparatory Secondary School,(UPSS), first position; Edo Boys’ High School , Second position and Anglican Girls’ Grammar School , which emerged third.