Nigeria’s growing concerns about the unemployment rate have prompted calls to preach the entrepreneurial gospel to university undergraduates as a viable alternative to the competitive labour market and a means of making them self-sufficient.
However, an organisation, BMI-CTY, advocates more than just a shift towards entrepreneurship as a viable solution. After two years of research, they have developed an inclusive methodology for teaching entrepreneurship education in Nigeria.
To this end, at a media event on Thursday, they explained that they have designated programmes to foster an entrepreneurial mindset in primary and junior secondary school children.
These programmes, they said, will equip the pupils with the necessary tools to navigate an increasingly complex and dynamic world.
Additionally, they shared how they are empowering these students to unleash their potential as future business leaders and change-makers. At the event, they shed light on the upcoming Incubating African Kids Entrepreneurs for Next-Gen Impact Conference scheduled for Friday at the Oriental Hotel and Towers Lagos.
Entrepreneurship meets academics
In his remarks, BMI-CTY Chairperson Nnamdi Unachukwu highlighted the company’s innovative efforts to integrate entrepreneurship into basic education curriculums.
He said his team had developed a six-sense approach with resource materials such as Textbooks, Workbooks, Discussion books, Cartoon series, practical books, video-recorded teachings, and gaming that suit the young learners.
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“Early learning is always a motivation for acquiring behaviours and habits since learning modifies behaviour, cognitive, motor, and sensory levels, integrating changes in our values and attitudes,’’ he noted.
He stressed the initiative equips students with essential entrepreneurial skills crucial for succeeding as future nation-builders.
More so, the BMI-CTY Chairperson noted that the company pursued a research-driven approach and, after two years of diligent work, developed an inclusive methodology for teaching entrepreneurship education in Nigeria.
He underscored that the group comprises experienced educators, successful entrepreneurs with extensive experience, IT experts, seasoned researchers, and management consultants.
“The significance of fostering a mindset of innovation, creativity, and problem-solving among students is beckoning in Nigeria and cultivating entrepreneurial skills and mindset in a child is easier. It makes the child creative, innovative, risk-taking, and a wealth-builder,’’ Mr Unachukwu noted.
Furthermore, Henrietta Onwuegbuzie, Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at Lagos Business School and a certified Management consultant, said this initiative would foster proactiveness in the children by [encouraging them to identify and solve problems, promoting initiative and self-motivation] and help build future employment in the country.
She argued that instilling entrepreneurial skills in children would reduce reliance on job-seeking and promote the development of a resilient local economy, sparking a sense of concern and engagement in the audience for the economic future of Nigeria.
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