Entrepreneurial Skills Acquisition

Interested youths are either trained in specific skills areas or attached as apprentices in already established small and medium businesses. The NGO supports such trainees and provide them with tools/ equipment on graduation.

The whole idea is to provide windows with the participation of private sector companies and a cooperative Society arrangement for the Esan people focusing on the already established Esan youths in small and medium scale enterprises to drive the empowerment process.

The NGO (Esan Development Organization- EDO, will provide the administrative system for driving the entire process. The NGO intends to have partners in the funding of the scheme as a major source of funding the empowerment programs.

The NGO intends to empower the youths of Esan land through:

»  Access to entrepreneurial skills acquisition through direct training and apprenticeship programs with established institutions/ artisans

»  Funding & Equipment/ Tools support

»  ICT

»  Markets through information sharing

The envisioned partners to approach, not limited though include:

1) Bank of Agriculture        2) Bank of industry

3) Edo jobs        4) CBN (relevant department)

5) AfDB        6) Afrexim

7) Nexim        8) WorldBank

Financial Supermarket

This concept is developed around the urgent and important need to deepen financial inclusion, targeting the able-bodied youths and economically active men and women in Esan Land, who ordinarily in the course of their businesses do not have access to formal finance either by way of borrowing from deposit money banks or capital market.

Members outside Esan can also participate in the various schemes under the auspices of the NGO.

As the name indicates, the financial market is a one -stop shop for all financial services and products be it in the mainstream banking services, agency banking services, cooperative financial services, regulatory services by way of customer care, information sharing and deposit maintenance services.

COOPERATIVE SOCIETY

Membership is free for all people living in Esan Land.

Every member (Cooperator) joins with a fixed fee and a minimum deposit (personal & variable) for which a membership card is issued to the Cooperator.

The Cooperators will make contribution into their account from time to time.

The benefits to Cooperators as members are:

»  Obtain loans ( soft) for their businesses at a rate below the prevailing banking rate and the amount approved by the managers shall be within the operating guidelines and rules setting up the scheme .

»  Enjoys dividends from the investment of group funds

»  Share bonuses from capital gains

Enjoys products & goods at extremely cheaper prices from the thrift stores located in every autonomous community in Esan.

»  Products and goods are highly subsidized by the various manufacturing companies for the benefits of the poor and the vulnerable.

»  Hereditary as children or next- of - kin continue to operate the services and benefits after the demise of the Primary Cooperator.

REGULATORY SERVICES

Most Nigerians particularly those living in rural communities do not have access to services and products offered by the Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), PENCOM, NAICOM, SEC.

The CBN has a few windows open to young men and women venturing into all lines of small and medium scale businesses.

AGOA is an example. Our local people do not have access to this. Our centre offers a brokerage opportunity for those young men and women to access the variegated services offered by the CBN.

The NDIC protects deposits in banks and guarantees deposits of rural customers whose monies face the risk of loss in the event of their banks facing imminent collapse or financial liquidity crisis.

The centre will assist rural customers in having access to their deposits facing loss.

The centre will also make available to these less informed rural communities’ vital information that will assist them in investment and saving decisions.

CAPITAL MARKET OPERATIONS

Here, shares and stocks are traded by our people

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»  Mutual funds investment is done for members

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»  Private companies are invited to operate this window of opportunity for our people

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

The private operators will support the various banking institutions and business companies ( electricity , water , school fees etc. ) with these additional financial services.

»  Fees are earned by them .

BANKING SERVICES

There is only one deposit -taking banking institution, Union bank plc, in Igueben LGA, a local government that is made up of eight (8) autonomous communities. Only one bank cannot serve the business needs of our people.

The idea of banking services within the ambit of a financial supermarket is to attract as many banks as possible with their ATMs that offers deposit -taking and withdrawal services to the variegated rural customer base.

The administrative costs and risks inherent in the operations of the services including security architecture will be borne by the NGO.

The Banking institutions will however pay commissions and fees for the services to the Agancy or private operators in the line of business.

EDUCATIONAL SERVICES

»  e-Learning ( www.studentslip.com)

»  Audio-visual learning aids

»  Financial literacy for the rural communities

»  Research in support of regulatory authorities and the world bank.