The MTN Foundation has concluded the seventh phase of its ICT and Business Skills Training Programme, graduating 5,890 young entrepreneurs and inducting 6,000 participants into its expanding alumni network of tech-enabled business leaders.
Speaking at the Phase 7 closing ceremony held at Abuja Continental on Wednesday, Nigeria’s Vice President, Kashim Shettima, charged the graduates to take the lead in driving the country’s digital and economic transformation.
Shettima described the event as more than a graduation ceremony, calling it a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.
“We do not merely confer certificates today. We celebrate capacity built, confidence strengthened, and futures deliberately designed,” the Vice President said.
At the ceremony, 600 micro-businesses were unveiled as beneficiaries of equipment grants valued at over N300 million, aimed at accelerating enterprise growth and job creation.
Shettima commended the Foundation for what he termed visionary corporate citizenship, stressing that sustainable national development requires robust collaboration between the public and private sectors. He noted that aligning private sector resources with national development priorities demonstrates that long-term economic growth is best achieved through partnership.
Referencing the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Vice President said youth empowerment, economic diversification, and digital transformation remain central pillars of the Federal Government’s development strategy.
He described Nigeria’s youthful population as one of its greatest assets, adding that digital capacity serves as a bridge between potential and prosperity. According to him, the Federal Government has introduced structured grants, innovation funds, and startup support mechanisms through various agencies to catalyze entrepreneurship and unlock financing for technology-enabled enterprises.
“Technology remains central to Nigeria’s economic diversification strategy,” Shettima stated, citing its impact across commerce, agriculture, healthcare, logistics, and the creative industry.
Addressing the graduates directly, he described them as ambassadors of Nigeria’s digital economy and urged them to translate their newly acquired skills into practical solutions that create jobs, strengthen communities, and compete globally.
“The future of Nigeria will not be written by chance. It will be engineered by competence, courage, and creativity,” he said, while emphasizing the importance of integrity, accountability, and responsible innovation.
In a keynote address, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, urged the graduates to see themselves as drivers of Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Oyedele said Nigeria’s prosperity would be built not merely on large corporations but on “millions of small businesses growing steadily, innovatively and robustly across our communities.”
He explained that ongoing economic reforms are designed to create a more transparent, stable, and enabling environment for entrepreneurs, including tax exemptions for qualifying micro enterprises and simplified compliance processes to encourage business formalization and growth.
Earlier, Executive Director of the Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, disclosed that over 15,000 young Nigerians have benefited from the ICT and Business Skills Training Programme since its inception.
“Today, 5,890 young Nigerians graduate from this intensive training programme, and 6,000 participants are formally inducted into a growing alumni network of tech-enabled entrepreneurs,” she said, adding that the initiative goes beyond skills acquisition to building the productive backbone of the nation’s economy.
Director of the Foundation, Surajudeen Yakubu, described the programme as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future, noting that it represents the expansion of a movement of digitally empowered young Nigerians building sustainable ventures.
Speaking on behalf of the grant recipients, Adenike Akintola expressed gratitude to the Foundation, describing the training as transformative for her Abuja-based catering business.
“I feel very fulfilled. I thank MTN ICT for this programme,” she said, explaining how the training improved her record-keeping, sales tracking, and operational efficiency.
The ceremony concluded with the formal induction of 6,000 participants into the Foundation’s alumni network, positioning them within a broader ecosystem expected to foster collaboration, scale enterprises, and create employment opportunities nationwide.
