By Romanus Udekwe Okue-Agbomma
Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Charles Soludo, CFR, has disbursed N3.5 billion in grants to 8,300 young men and women graduating from the second batch of the state’s One Youth Two Skills Plus programme, marking one of the largest single youth empowerment investments in Nigeria’s history.
The governor made the announcement during the graduation ceremony held at the International Convention Centre, Awka, where he declared the initiative a revolution in youth empowerment focused on productive, innovative, and export-driven ventures. The massive financial injection is designed to support business dreams and transform beneficiaries from job seekers into employers of labour, with each graduate receiving startup capital alongside comprehensive business support.
Speaking at the event, Governor Soludo revealed his administration’s ambitious vision to establish Anambra as the skill hub of Sub-Saharan Africa, noting that the programme represents a deliberate shift from consumption-based empowerment to sustainable enterprise development. The initiative, launched on 22 October 2022, has now empowered a total of 13,300 youths across two phases, with the first batch of 5,000 beneficiaries recording an impressive 80 per cent success rate in business commencement and expansion.
The governor explained that the programme operates through five critical schemes: the Apprenticeship Scheme, Entrepreneurship Scheme, Cooperatives Formation Scheme, Business Financing Scheme, and Mentorship Scheme, all structured as one-year intensive interventions. Beyond the N3.5 billion in grants for the current batch, beneficiaries will receive one year of mentorship from business development experts to ensure sustainability and growth of their enterprises.
Evidence of the programme’s impact was visible at the graduation ceremony, where products including T-shirts and food items manufactured by first-phase graduates were showcased, demonstrating the initiative’s emphasis on local production and resource utilisation. The success of earlier beneficiaries has spawned the Solution Youth-Preneurs Support Group, a self-driven platform currently training 1,000 additional Anambra youths at no cost, effectively multiplying the programme’s reach beyond government intervention.
Governor Soludo challenged the new graduates to “start small, start now, think big,” emphasising that they had been equipped with skills, funding, and mentorship necessary for success. The governor stressed that the initiative goes beyond mere skill acquisition to encompass the entire value chain of enterprise development, from training through financing to market linkages and export opportunities.
The Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr Patrick Aghamba, described the programme’s evolution as profoundly transformative, noting that thousands of young lives and futures were being reshaped through the initiative. His sentiments were echoed by Professor Chinedu Onyeizugbe, Chairman of the One Youth Two Skills Entrepreneurship Scheme, who revealed a remarkable 48 per cent increase in participation between the first and second phases, describing the programme as a model for scholars and practitioners alike.
Looking ahead, the governor disclosed plans to expand the initiative further, targeting 20,000 youths in the next phase whilst increasing training centres from the current 634 to 1,000 across the state. The expansion strategy aims to ensure that every community in Anambra benefits from the programme, creating a network of skilled entrepreneurs capable of driving economic transformation from the grassroots level.
Beneficiaries who spoke at the ceremony shared testimonies of how the programme had transformed their economic fortunes, with many reporting successful business launches and early profitability. Several graduates from outside Anambra State also participated, underscoring the programme’s growing reputation beyond state boundaries and its potential to serve as a template for youth empowerment across Nigeria.
The first phase of the initiative had distributed N2 billion for equipment financing and N2.5 billion for working capital to 5,000 beneficiaries across 179 communities, establishing a foundation that the current disbursement builds upon. The cumulative investment of over N8 billion across both phases represents one of the most substantial commitments to youth enterprise development by any state government in recent Nigerian history.
Governor Soludo emphasised that the programme’s philosophy centres on creating employers rather than employees, with each beneficiary expected to eventually employ others and contribute to reducing the state’s unemployment figures. The initiative’s focus on exportable skills aligns with the administration’s broader economic strategy of positioning Anambra as a production and export hub within the Nigerian economy.
The graduation ceremony also featured exhibitions of various products and services being offered by beneficiaries, ranging from fashion and textiles to food processing and technology services, demonstrating the diversity of enterprises being supported. The visible success of these ventures has generated significant interest from other states seeking to replicate the Anambra model, according to government officials.
As the second batch of graduates embarks on their entrepreneurial journey with N3.5 billion in backing, the Anambra government has positioned the One Youth Two Skills Plus programme as a cornerstone of its development strategy, aimed at creating lasting prosperity through youth empowerment and enterprise development. The initiative’s success rate and scale suggest a potential blueprint for addressing youth unemployment challenges across Nigeria’s 36 states.
