Enterprise Development and Promotion

The Enterprise Development and Promotion (EDP) Department spearheads entrepreneurship development, vocational skills acquisition, MSME incubation, micro-credit access, and wealth creation for Nigerian youth.

Mandate

• Designing and conducting diversified vocational, technical, and agro-allied skills acquisition training nationwide.
• Apprenticeship support and business mentoring connecting youth to master craftsmen and craftswomen over structured training cycles.
• Provision of business support services and incubation for youth-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
• Connecting youth to financial institutions to secure micro-credit facilities and startup funding at favorable terms.
• Organizing financial literacy training in collaboration with the CBN, NYSC, and financial institutions to promote savings and investments.
• Youth cooperative development encouraging youth to form cooperative societies to pool resources and overcome funding constraints.
• Advanced entrepreneurship development training in partnership with UNIDO, SMEDAN, and development agencies.
• Profiling, data collation, and mapping of youth MSMEs across Nigeria for evidence-based economic planning.
• Coordination and synergy-building with youth-led NGOs, enterprise hubs, and stakeholders engaged in youth employment generation.

Functions

• Providing startup toolkits and post-training support for beneficiaries of ministry empowerment schemes.
• Coordinating the enterprise pillars of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP).
• Establishing linkage with government and non-government support institutions for youth enterprise scaling.
• Facilitating market access, product exhibitions, and trade linkages for youth manufacturers.

Structure

• Vocational & Agro-Allied Skills Acquisition Division
• Micro-Credit, Finance & Cooperatives Division
• MSME Incubation, Mentoring & BDS Division
• Youth Employment Coordination & UNIDO Partnership Unit