In line with its mandate to provide employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for
Lagos residents, the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), on Tuesday, May 7, 2019
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United States African
Development Fund (USADF) to support 15,000 youth in the State.
Through this MoU, both parties will provide the equal sum of $2 million dollars every year
for five (5) years ($10m in total) to provide skill development and internship opportunities
to 3,000 youth between the ages of 18-35, yearly. Women will represent at least 50% of
the beneficiaries.
The signing ceremony which took place in Washington DC, United States of America had
top executives of both agencies, members of the U.S Congress, partners and
international media present. Speaking during the signing ceremony, Mrs. Ifueko M.
Omoigui Okauru, Chairman, LSETF’s Board of Trustees, expressed her optimism on the
impact of the partnership. “This USADF-LSETF collaboration will enable
- the expansion of world-class vocational training centers available in the state;
- the development of 15,000 skilled youth for employment into targeted sectors;
- the provision of internship cost subsidies to employers and;
- track real time placement of unemployed youth into jobs”.
In her remarks, Teju Abisoye, Acting Executive Secretary, (LSETF, said that “With the recent Labor Force Report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showing a 6.7% drop
in unemployment rate as well as Lagos state providing the largest number of 740,146 jobs
in the third quarter of 2018, it is obvious that the deliberate employment intervention
policies of the Lagos State Government are finally impacting on job creation. I am
pleased to have USADF join us to create more jobs for our youth, whilst sustainably
decreasing our alarming unemployment rate”
Also commenting, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the United States African
Development Foundation, C. D Glin stated that, “We are proud to be in partnership with
the LSETF, whose programmes have been independently verified to be making impact
on the lives of young Nigerians. This USADF-LSETF partnership further expands our existing
commitment to investing in high impact initiatives hinged on generating income,
providing financial solutions and causing a change in the African economy.”
The initiative includes training of participants and provision of internship opportunities over
a period of six (6) months and is expected to result in sustainable job and
entrepreneurship opportunities.
About Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF)
Established in 2016, LSETF’s vision is to create employment and entrepreneurship
opportunities to reduce unemployment in Lagos State. LSETF focuses on promoting
entrepreneurship by improving access to finance, strengthening the institutional
capacity of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), formulating policies and
actively intervening to improve the business environment. The Fund also trains and places
unemployed Lagos residents in jobs, while also driving innovation within the Lagos
ecosystem.
Learn more at https://lsetf.ng. Communications
contact: Abosede Alimi, abosede.alimi@lsetf.ng
About the United States African Development Foundation (USADF)
USADF is the U.S. Government’s African enterprise development agency. The agency
invests in grassroots, small, and growing businesses; promotes local economic
development; and creates pathways to prosperity for underserved communities. Utilizing
a community-led development approach, USADF provides seed capital and local
project management assistance to early stage enterprises addressing local challenges
such as food security, energy access, and women and youth employment. Annually,
USADF’s grant assistance for enterprise development and expansion generates
approximately $100 million in new local economic activity throughout 20 African
countries.
Learn more at www.usadf.gov. Communications contact: Jarvis Holliday,
jholliday@usadf.gov, 202-233-8856.