Nestlé Nigeria Celebrates International Youth Day

Nestlé Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate the 2017 edition of the International Youth Day by hosting 2 concurrent events at its Lagos Head Office and its Agbara Factory Complex, to boost entrepreneurship and employability respectively. The company stated that in line with the UN SDG Goal 8, which aims to ‘promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full of productive employment and decent work for all,’ it will continue to support young people by boosting youth entrepreneurship and inspiring talented youth, as well as providing training and job opportunities to ensure they gain the skills, that will enable them make positive contributions towards building peace in the society. Nestlé Nigeria’s youth empowerment initiatives include the training programme at the Technical Training Centre located in the Agbara factory complex. The program is helping to develop and train young technicians for the world of work. Another is the My Own Business (MYOWBU) street-vending programme which is providing young people with the skills and expertise they need to run their own micro-enterprises.

CELEBRATING YOUTH ENTREPRENEURSHIP The event at Nestlé Nigeria’s Head office was focused on youth entrepreneurship. It was an interactive session with four young Nigerian entrepreneurs making impact in their respective industries. The panellists who shared their individual success story and how they are contributing positively to the society included Tosin Oshinowo, CEO of CDAtelier, (the Architect who designed Maryland Mall – a popular mall in Lagos), Chiamaka Obuekwe, CEO Social Prefect Tours, (One of Africa’s Top 100 Women in Tourism), Oluwaseun Shogbamu, founder and CEO Nation Career Fair and Elijah Eniola, Digital Marketing Executive and Social Entrepreneur.

In her presentation, Tosin emphasised the importance of hard work and focus in helping her achieve significant milestones at a young age. Chiamaka spoke about learning to fail fast and getting back on your feet. According to Seun, when purpose meets a problem, value can be derived. He spoke about achieving your purpose by helping others. Elijah encouraged the participants at the event not to limit themselves to a University degree. He shared how surrounding himself with people of similar interests helped shape him for success. Speaking at the event, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Nigeria, charged the youths on the need to leverage the myriad opportunities available to them today. He stated that today’s youths are better equipped to make positive impact in the fast-paced world we live in. He encouraged them to maximize the use of technology and get creative to harness the vast potential in themselves to create value for society. “You can do so many things today. As I see the great advantages of being a young person today, I also understand the hard challenges of managing so many prospects that no other generation prior to you ever had. Therefore, I think it is a great opportunity to sit together today to discuss how to seize these opportunities to really make a difference,” said Mr. Alarcon. ‘You make a difference when you are young. Your potential is there, your dreams are there,” So celebrate the youth, but more importantly, grab that unique chance that you have today,” he added. PROMOTING EMPLOYABILITY At the Agbara Factory Complex, the celebration was focused on boosting employability in the youth. Before the coaching sessions, the guest speaker, National coordinator, African Youth Initiative for Crime Prevention, Mr. Chris Ibeh, dwelt extensively on the need for the current crop of youth to be at the forefront of brokering peace in the society

in line with the 2017 theme, Youth Building Peace. He encouraged the youth to aspire to and to take up leadership positions. Speaking further, he urged the youth to shun tribalism, offensive religious sentiments, corruption, greed and all other acts that could breach societal peace. In his statement, the Agbara Factory Manager, Mr. Walid Hbaika stressed the need for the youth to take everything they are learning with utmost seriousness, because this is a turning point in their lives, where they are being sharpened for a world of challenges and opportunities. Also speaking at the event, Nestlé Nigeria’s Head of Human Resources Mr. Adesola Akinyosoye encouraged the youth to embrace the key elements of learning agility to enable them succeed in today’s highly competitive environment. “The present-day world is not driven by mere activity, but by results. Every activity that one engages in must therefore be productive,” he said. The mentorship segment on career building and development was well received by the youth who expressed their satisfaction with the depth of information shared. The session included practical demonstrations on how to kick-start and develop a successful career, how to create adequate visibility for oneself using online networking sites and a curriculum vitae clinic to expose the interns to the expectations of employers.