27 December 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, says its youth enterprise development programme, launched in 2003, has so far produced 6,687 Niger Delta entrepreneurs.
SPDC’s General Manager, External Relations, Mr Igo Weli, disclosed this as the company distributed N14 million to 35 graduates of its 2017 Regional LiveWIRE entrepreneurial programme.
The cheques for the money were distributed in Effurun, Delta State, with each of the beneficiaries of the programme getting N400,000 as business start-up grant.
Weli, who was represented at the event by the SPDC Infrastructural Manager, Mr John Uduaghan, said the programme was targeted at communities to inspire, encourage and support youth to start their own businesses or expand existing ones.
“We do this by providing them with requisite training and start-up finance with the hope that with legitimate alternative means of livelihood, our young men and women will shun vices.
” These beneficiaries went through the entrepreneurship training, wrote business plans; pitched their business ideas and at the end 35 best-performing beneficiaries were selected.
“They will be receiving awards of business start-up grant and with the grant, we expect that they will be able to successfully establish their businesses,” Weli said.
He said the Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria programme was part of the global Shell LiveWIRE social investment programme which enable young people to start their own business and also create employment.
According to him, Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria has won several awards including the Sociàl Enterprise Award in 2010 and the African Leadership Award for Youth Development in 2011.
