Apply for the BOI and EDC Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme

The Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) programme is an ambitious programme by the Bank of Industry (BOI) aimed at addressing youth unemployment in Nigeria which is currently over 50%. According to a 2013 survey by the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), most of the capacity building programmes aimed at addressing youth unemployment, have concentrated more on training without any tie-in to the provision of small business loans, which is a critical success factor to the establishment of small businesses. In addition, they hardly take care of the entire training value chain in terms of Entrepreneurship, Business Management and Technical Skills.

The YES Programme

BOI’s approach to tackling the youth capacity building challenge is to focus on young aspiring entrepreneurs within the age bracket of 18 – 35 years that have viable business ideas by developing a Product Program – Youth Enterprise Support Programme (YES Programme), for empowering them. This crop of Nigerians forms a significant proportion of unemployed youth in the country.

Components of the YES Programme

The YES Programme comprises the following:

• Eight (8) weeks intensive online Entrepreneurship and Business Management training which has the ability to test participants’ understanding and track their progress.
• Five (5) days in-class Entrepreneurship and Business Management training
• Technical skills training in partnership with the various technical training and vocational institutes in the country.
• Financing the businesses by BOI under its SME Cluster initiative in consonance with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa’s Commodity-based Industrialisation Strategy.

Programme Objectives

The YES Programme has the following broad objectives:

• To create an interactive learning platform to train young aspiring entrepreneurs in entrepreneurship and business management that will ultimately translate into improved efficiency and productivity.
• To kindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the youths.
• To act as an incubation center where business ideas are nurtured to their full potential as well as entrenching global best practices by inculcating a culture of innovation-driven entrepreneurship and ethics in the programme participants.
• Promotion of self-employment among graduates of institutions of higher learning, thereby changing their job-seeking mindset.
• To deepen financial inclusion by de-risking the young aspiring entrepreneurs and making them eligible for small business loans to be provided by BOI.

Step 1 – Check Your Eligibility

Check that you are qualified to apply. See the section “Who can apply?” below.
Step 2 – Register

Click here to register if you have not already done so

You will receive a confirmation email from YES Programme with all the details you will need to log in.
Step 3 – Complete Application

Once you have successfully registered, log in and click the “Start Application” button on the Start Application Tab on this page. To return to your application, click the “save and continue” button and come back to it at any time. Once you are done with your application, click on the “Submit” button at the end of the form to send it to us. You can submit only ONE application per “application cycle” (typically 3-4 months).
Step 4 – Keep Informed

After the closing date you will be notified if you have been shortlisted for the next stage of the competition. Constantly check the YES Programme homepage for regular updates.
Who Can Apply?

To be eligible for the Competition you must satisfy the following criteria:

1. The applicant must be a Nigerian.

2. Must have a viable business idea within the 34 identified clusters that is operated, or will operate in Nigeria.

3. Must be within the age limits of 18 and 35. (proof of identity: International passport/Drivers License/National ID/Voters card required).

4. Must possess a minimum educational qualification of Ordinary National Diploma (OND).

5. Applicant must be able to carry out the application process online.

Click here to apply