In celebration of World Youth Skills Day, young entrepreneurs under Henkel’s Street-Smart Entrepreneurs (SSE) initiative, have used the opportunity to commend the company for its various efforts to support and develop local youths to become self-sustaining entrepreneurs.

The SSE initiative, where Nigerians can leverage Henkel’s products to earn a living, is an avenue where unemployed youths are converted into entrepreneurs while developing the economy and local communities at the same time.

It is a self-sustainable initiative where the young talents are trained and equipped with the skills and tools necessary to run a business within their respective community.

According to Rufa’I Adam, a SSE based in Nasarawa state, in the Northern part of Nigeria, the scheme is a great one as he narrated his experience before he got into the initiative and his present situation now that he is actively engaged.

He shared, “Years after being on the scheme, my economic status and marketing acumen has grown. I can now support my immediate family unlike before when it was hard to sustain myself. I am also proud to be associated with a business, all courtesy of Henkel.

‘’Having seen the benefits, I am motivated to bring in as many people as possible onto the programme so they can also do better for themselves and their families, eventually contributing towards skills acquisition and growing the economic base of the country”.
He commended the management of Henkel for coming up with the idea to contribute their quota to the economic development of the country by focusing on the unemployed youths across the country.

It should be recalled that Henkel in 2019 restated its commitment to contribute to job creation in the country with support to local entrepreneurs across the country through the expansion of its corporate social initiative.

According to Rajat Kapur, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Henkel Nigeria, the goal of the SSE tied into the global World Youth Skills Day, as he affirmed that the scheme seeks to improve the skills of youths and local entrepreneurs by constantly building their capacity on what it takes to be successful entrepreneurs.

Kapur stated that the intent is not only to empower the Street Smart Entrepreneurs but also to develop their talent through the various job creation opportunities made available.

According to Mohammed Ramadan, the SSE Coordinator, since the launch of SSE in 2019, it has developed and equipped over 200 unemployed youths to become entrepreneurs that can support themselves, as well as their families. Ramadan stated that it also gave them a sense of purpose as they are now positive ambassadors to their communities.

World Youth Skills Day is celebrated on July 15 every year and has been celebrated since 2014 after the United Nations announced its existence. According to the U.N., the objective of World Youth Skills Day is to “celebrate the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. The theme for this year is ‘Transforming youth skills for the future’.