Abuja — The Idealab Agency, a federal government initiative, has appealed to lawmakers, management, and staff of the National Assembly to promote and patronize "Made in Nigeria" products and services. This move aims to create and sustain employment opportunities in the country.
Director General Emmanuel Aondoakaa appealed at a press conference in Abuja, emphasizing the need for partnerships to facilitate grants, aid, scholarships, market access, employment placements, and loan programs.
He highlighted the challenges faced by Nigerians due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the need for intervention programs to mitigate these difficulties.
Aondoakaa announced the Federal Government Talent Export Initiative, which trains Nigerians in high-level digital skills to tap into the global economy.
CanHe also mentioned the World Bank Group's collaboration and the goal to lift 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2027.
Chairman of the Idealab Board, Dr. Christiana Solanke-Olajide, commended President Bola Tinubu's target of lifting 50 million Nigerians out of poverty and highlighted the agency's vocational and financial empowerment programs for unemployed and employed individuals, including skills acquisition, catering, tailoring, soap making, and animal husbandry.
The agency aims to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through innovation, skill acquisition, and job creation. They urged the National Assembly to mobilize and create awareness about these opportunities to address poverty and create wealth in the country.
The agency also sought partnerships for the disbursement of grants, aid, scholarships, market access, employment placements and loan programmes facilitations, amongst others with special digital skills trainings.
Aondoakaa said partnership became necessary because of the current realities in the economy where so many Nigerians were facing severe difficulties and living below poverty line due to the total removal of fuel subsidy.
He however, said with these enormous challenges the people were facing, the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank Group has put up intervention programmes to mitigate those difficulties and create a more prosperous future for all Nigerians especially the youths and women through the Investment in Digital Economy and Creative Enterprise with the Idealab Programme.
"One of such intervention programmes is called, the Federal Government Talent Export initiative where ordinary Nigerians can be trained on high level digital skills to tap into the globalisation economy by living in Nigeria and working remotely for interventional brands and earning as much as N10 million monthly.
"Travel abroad through direct employment with the World Bank Group and other partner nations/multinationals by acquiring some special skills sets through the
Idealab Agency with 100% fully funded sponsorships.
"Since the presidency targets lifting 50 million Nigerians out of poverty by 2027 with the implementation of these intervention programmes, Idealab Agency is calling on
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the National Assembly's Stakeholders to embrace these programmes on her platform
through mobilisation and awareness creation to enlist more beneficiaries from their
federal constituencies to access the opportunities as grants, and scholarships, etc to solve the problems of poverty and create wealth in the country," Aondoakaa added.
On her part, the chairman of Idelab Board, Dr Christiana Solanke-Olajide, noted that grant related crisis in Nigeria today among popular and unpopular humanitarian organisation and individuals, called for urgent government intervention targeting lifting 50 millions Nigerian out of poverty by 2027 with implementation of programmes.
