Adesina reveals why Nigeria wants to develop youth bank

• The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) said it has approved $100 million in financing for Nigeria to establish a youth bank
• AfDB President Akiwunmi Adesina disclosed this recently, saying that the move is to reverse the Japa trend
• He disclosed that the move will enhance the entrepreneurial capacities of Nigerian youths 

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has approved $100 million to establish a new youth bank in Nigeria.

AfDB President Akinwunmi Adesina disclosed this on Friday, October 18, 2024, while delivering a keynote address at a public lecture to celebrate the 90th birthday of Nigeria’s former Head of State, Yakubu Gowon.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso Credit: Bloomberg/Contributor
Source: Getty Images

The new bank to drive youth talent pool

Adesina disclosed that the new bank will support youth businesses in the country.

He said the bank approved the fund to support youth enterprises using technical skills.

He said:

“This new bank will support the youth businesses in Nigeria using technical assistance, business incubation, quasi-equity, and debt.” 

Nigeria to reserse Japa trend

He stated that the initiative underscores the bank’s commitment to supporting youths, who he believes are essential to Nigeria’s development.

Adesina said that he did not believe that the future of Nigeria’s youth is in Europe, the US or Asia, saying the policy is one of the ways to reverse the Japa trend and ensure that the talents in Nigeria are harnessed and turn the country’s demographic asset into a talent pool.

ThisDay reports that Adesina stressed that Nigeria needs to boost Nigerian youths' talent and entrepreneurial capacity to drive growth and retain young talent.

The AfDB boss added that the bank will also deploy guarantee instruments to de-risk financial institutions' lending to businesses in Nigeria.

“It will be a new day and dawn for Nigeria, and I believe we can do it,” he said.

VFD bank denies N8m sanction by CBN, SEC

Legit.ng earlier reported that VFD Microfinance Bank has debunked reports that it was sanctioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for various infractions, including forex violations.

The bank disclosed this in a rebuttal sent to Legit.ng that it was not among the 10 banks sanctioned by the regulatory bodies for the violations.

VFD MfB said it does not trade in forex, being a microfinance bank, calling the report misleading

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Source: Legit.ng