An FCT based Empowerment foundation, Ventures Platform (VPF), says plans are in the pipeline to create at least one million jobs for Nigerians and other Africans in three years to reduce the level of unemployment on the continent.
Mr Mimshach Obioha, Executive Director, Ventures Platform Foundation (VPF) said this in Abuja on Tuesday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to mark the organisation’s fourth anniversary.
Obioha said the jobs would be created in collaboration with different entrepreneurs with a target of 350, 000 jobs annually.
“The idea is to support entrepreneurs that create jobs and skills.
“For example, there is a company ‘Thrive Agric’ that we invested in and they help small holder farmers by providing them with capital, inputs and knowledge they need to grow their farms.
“They are about two and half years and they have created over 30, 000 jobs; that is just one company, so, imagine if we invest in more companies like that; imagine us investing in 10 ‘Thrive Agrics’ in two years, that is 300, 000 jobs.
“My point is that there are new types of businesses that have the ability to create jobs and skills.
“See Uber for example; Uber is creating jobs for hundreds of thousands of drivers across the world.
“There is a platform called Freelancer or Fiber. It is a platform creating jobs for millions of people all over the world, and no matter where they are, they are able to plug into a system and generate revenue for themselves and family.
“These are the type of people we are targeting over the next three years,” Obioha said.
According to him, the foundation has invested over 2 million dollars on different startups and another 2 million dollars given out as grants to entrepreneurs in the last four years.
Obioha also said the organisation was working to have its base in other countries of Africa to help lift the continent out of poverty.
Mrs Adaeze Sokan, Director, Design and Strategy of VPF said efforts were on to design more programmes that would support the people, especially in this present time of coronavirus pandemic.
Sokan said that most of the jobs being designed by the organisation were the ones that could turn ideas into products and services.
“The more people have incomes, the more they are elevated from poverty; and people have access to income when they have a job,” she added. (NAN)
