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National Youth Business Summit

Ref: NYBLS/ABJ/08/MIC/SP/002

24 April, 2008

The Honourable Minister
Ministry of Information and Communications
Radio House, Area 10, Garki,
Abuja.

RE-REQUEST FOR COLLABORATIONS AND SPONSORSHIP OF NATIONAL YOUTH BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP SUMMIT – ABUJA 2008

The SPEED-AFRICA Team met with and discussed with your Ministry on the modalities and extent of the 1st National Youth Business and Leadership Summit and received useful insight for a successful conduct of the Summit come August 13 this year.

We present for your approval details of our various activities from inception to date and look forward to a successful summit as we hope it will meet your kind consideration.

REGIONAL REPORT
Our Regional Coordinators have summarized activities of their regions and summits that the summit is capable of raising awareness that will ultimately galvanized the youths in their region to tow the noble path of self-employment and require minimal support from the Local, State and Federal levels. [see attached].

IMPORTANCE OF THE MINISTRY’S INVOLVEMENT
The National Youth Business and Leadership Summit, is the first of its kind at the National level. We have since last year, extensively distributed the proposals to more than 300 individuals and organizations including your Ministry on the relevance of such a summit at the National and State levels.

Being the first of its kind, the summit requires a whole lot of publicity for the Sponsoring Ministry to adequately enjoy the publicity of its activities, achievement and what it desires to fulfill as its final objectives. As thus we have taking time to ensure that the six geo-political regions are adequately saturated with the instrumentality of the Mass Media both electronic and print.[see Appendix 1-4]. We also include a sample of an interactive DVD for further consideration.

OTHER STAKEHOLDERS
As applicable in the developing world, we are involving the International Labour Organisation [ILO], who would provide training materials and equipment on industrial relations as it relates to self employed industries while the RED-CROSS Society of Nigeria will contribute to the training of industrial safety and operations in community leadership and Business empowerment.

Organisations such as the African Information Society Initiative [AISI], the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], New Partnership for African Development [NEPAD], National Economic Empowerment & Development Strategies [NEEDS], Nigeria the Heart of Africa Project, Vision 2020 and the actualization of the 7-Point Agenda of this Administration, will be taken along in this onerous task of mass economic empowerment.

OUR PREVIOUS RESOURCE PERSONS
We have also sought for Reputable Speakers in the Field of Entrepreneurial Development who have availed us the opportunity, to discuss matters of personal and business empowerment in several of our Seminars [See Attached]. Some of these Great Minds include:

Ndidi Nwuneli MFR, Gbenga Adeyinka ‘CFR’, Omo-Baba, Ubong Essien, Ajibade Oyemade, Efeoghene Okposio [Publisher/Motivational Speaker], Harris Steve and Fela Durotoye of [VIP Consulting] , Praise George [Prolific Writer/Speaker], Joel Oni [the master motivator], Sunny Obazu Ojeagbase’s Success Digest Team and many others.

OUR PREVIOUS SPONSORS/SUPPORTERS
We have made entreaties to several organizations and individuals in the past and have received their support for this onerous task. They include:

M2 Magazine, The Sun and Punch Newspaper, Cadbury, FAN-Milk, MTN, Tampico Drinks, Mimee Noodles, MIC Microfinance Bank, SweetSensation, SolidOptions Ltd, etc.

OUR SUCCESS STORIES
Efeoghene Okposio was hawking his magazine on the street and inside buses in Lagos when we identified his unique talents and invited him to deliver talks in some of our Seminars. Today he is a known figure in Motivations and Business Empowerment discuss around the country.

Mr. Oyemade Ajibade, a very shy comedian got his breakthrough from one of our programmes and has conducted several power-packed programme of his own over the years.

Tafida Gimba has variously sponsored young men and women in his region and created the necessary platform for Entrepreneurial Empowerment.

Mr. Charles Offoboche has created several employment opportunities for young entrepreneurs in Cross River State, Calabar through his Business Opportunity Seminars on GSM-Mobile Phone Repairs. The Production of Business success e-books are some of Mr. Charles specialty. He has encouraged several online authors, an inspiration he got from series of SPEED-AFRICA Entrepreneurial Empowerment Progammes.

Muhammad A. Dini in his bid to popularize Youth Business Empowerment in his region has employed the services of young men and women to indulge in a monthly get together to review the progress and suggest better ways forward in their self-employed capacities.

Mr. Brighadimo Friday has been with SPEED-AFRICA since inception, now a final year HND student, he is considered a whiz-kid in software development, applications and management. Despite physical challenges, Mr. Brighadimo runs a free monthly Computer Training programme in software and online ventures for entrepreneurial empowerment.

The list is endless and we are still counting as we move into the national stage. We however, enclosed some replies we have received from some of our participants since 2006 when we commenced operations to convince us of the fact that there are ready young men and women, not only in Nigeria but other 3rd world countries who are eager to access entrepreneurial information through our model for personal improvement and organizational effectiveness. [see attached correspondences].

BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP DISCUSS NOW A GLOBAL PHENOMENON
The subject of empowerment for development is not in isolation of other efforts by National and International Organisations. Presently, some 4,000 representatives of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] from 193 member states are attending the 12th Conference of UNCTAD in Ghana. The theme of the conference is “Addressing the opportunities and challenges of globalization for development.”

SPEED-AFRICA wish to say without contradiction that the new realities in the geography of the world economy is to enhance an enabling environment at all levels to strengthen productive capacity, trade and investment to mobilize resources and harnessing knowledge for development. The very reason why a summit such as the one we propose is very key if Vision 2020 is our destination point in the next twelve years.

REQUEST FOR INITIAL SUPPORT AND FACILITATION
We humbly request your Ministry to give us the appropriate support and initial facilitation to carry out this project because of its relevance to the present discuss around the globe.

We make this submission that the bringing together of members of the National Youth Service Corps, National Association of Nigerian Students[NANS], Non-Governmental Organisations, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Members of the Red Cross Society of Nigeria, Members of the Blue Crescent of Nigeria, Youth representatives from all the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory, young business entrepreneurs and Successful Business men and women gathered under one roof to discuss Youth Business and Leadership Empowerment. This we believe, will go a long way to ginger Business Consciousness among our youths in anticipation of entrepreneurial explosion that will lead to genuine industrialization. [See Appendix 5]

CONCLUSION
We are hopeful that this project meets the Honourable Minister’s desire to leave a legacy for the Teaming Nigerian Youth and that it meets the “…core national priorities to guide the bottom up visioning process and provide leadership and direction to galvanize the Vision 2020 process.” [V2020 Steering Committee Mandate]

To this end we still wish to remind the Ministry of Mr. President’s desires stated when he inaugurated the National Economic Council earlier this year when he said,

 “We have identified the development of HUMAN INFRASTRUCTURE and the challenges of developing our country’s physical infrastructure as TWO critical elements in growing our economy”.
 “We will not equivocate in our resolve to maintain micro-economic stability and create the requisite PLATFORM for the rapid regeneration of our economy. It has to be a focused collective effort by us all as major stakeholders in Project Nigeria.”
 “The 7-Point Agenda of my Administration is aimed at producing a National Plan for achieving the Vision 2020 economic policy to make Nigeria one of the 20 largest economies.”

Thank You

Brown Oga
CEO/National