140 Niger Delta Youths Receive N56m Grant from Shell

• 140 Niger Delta Youths Receive N56m Grant from Shell

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has given 140 Niger Delta youths a total sum of N56 million in grants.

In a statement released by SPDC, the talented youths from eight states of the Niger Delta graduated from the special Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria entrepreneurial training programme.

SPDC said the programme provides business and financial support to enable participants establish small and medium-scale businesses.

Beneficiaries of the programme were drawn from Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, and Rivers states, 20 of whom were under the Oporoma Special LiveWIRE Nigeria category in Bayelsa.

Igo Weli, General Manager External Relations, SPDC, said “These beneficiaries have now become part of the 7,212 Niger Delta young entrepreneurs who have graduated from the LiveWIRE Nigeria programme since SPDC launched this flagship youth enterprise development programme in 2003.”

Gloria Udoh, Manager for Social Performance and Social Investment, SPDC, who represented Igo Weli at the ceremony said “Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria has produced young entrepreneurs, most of whom are now employers of labour. Some of the beneficiaries are also given the opportunity to play in SPDC’s supply chain as vendors and are provided with access to growth capital.”

The 2019 winner of the Shell Group Global Top 10 Innovator award, the Managing Director, FarmToJuice Limited, Esther Ekiotenne, told participants that hard work, passion and discipline were necessary requirements for business success.

The statement reads, “The Shell LiveWIRE Nigeria programme is part of the global Shell LiveWIRE social investment programme, which enables young people to start their own businesses and create employment. It provides young entrepreneurs with access to essential business knowledge and customised support they need to transform their enterprising ideas into viable and sustainable businesses.