Sen. Rafiu Ibrahim empowers constituents with N10m business grants in Kwara

The senator representing Kwara South senatorial district, Dr Rafiu Adebayo Ibrahim on Thursday 10th January, 2019 empowered no fewer than 100 youths within his constituency with N10million grants to enable them establish their businesses.

The 100 beneficiaries were drawn from about 200 young people across the seven local government areas of Kwara South, who last year underwent a two-week extensive entrepreneurship training programme organized by the Rafiu Ibrahim Bilal (RIB) Foundation through the Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Speaking at the occasion which took place on Thursday at Ganmo, Senator Rafiu said the initiative was part of efforts to create more entrepreneurs within his constituency, saying that entrepreneurship remains key in solving the challenge of unemployment in the country.

“We are doing this because we know that only entrepreneurs can create the millions of jobs to power our economy out of poverty. So, nothing gladdens my heart than to see the creation of more entrepreneurs out of Kwara, and by extension Nigeria.

“The truth is that the current unemployment concerns cannot be solved by more government jobs – we need to democratize job creation, and the surest way to achieve that is by creating and empowering more entrepreneurs.

Senator Rafiu said his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP is focused on creating prosperity and opportunities for all, stressing that entrepreneurship was one of the ways the party is doing that.

“We need to assist our young entrepreneurs by creating the enabling environment and supporting policies that allow them to thrive. It is the goal of our party to rescue young entrepreneurs by providing with all the tools they needed to succeed.

In his lecture, the Chairman of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS), Dr Muritala Awodun urged the beneficiaries of the business grants to make judicious use of the funds by investing it in their businesses.

Awodun who is also a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of RIB Foundation said “You don’t need huge fund to start a business – you can start with the little resources at your disposal and gradually grow your small business to become big.”

Also speaking at the event, the Kwara PDP governorship candidate, Hon Razak Atunwa commended Senator Rafiu for empowering his constituents, noting that the business grants would have meaningful impacts on the lives of the beneficiaries. He described Senator Rafiu as a responsible lawmaker whose influence and impacts extend beyond his constituency.

Atunwa promised that if elected, his government would prioritise entrepreneurship by providing supports and opportunities for youth entrepreneurs in the State. He added that the civil service at both federal and state levels can not absorb all the unemployed people.

The PDP gubernatorial candidate urged the people of Kwara State to vote for him and all candidates of his party in the forthcoming general elections.

In his remarks, the DG RIB Foundation, Dr Bosun Lawal, informed that the foundation had embarked on many youth targeted programmes and projects aimed at ameliorating their suffering.