Over one thousand entrepreneurs have been trained on how to access the Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) - a loan facility of Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Bank).

The Oyo State Coordinator of National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Olayemi Olayinka, while speaking in Ibadan, during the fourth cycle training for some of the entrepreneurs said the was training organised by the Small Scale Enterprise Department of the NDE.

Correspondent Kunle Ojo reports that the state Coordinator disclosed that the exercise will enable participating entrepreneurs to prepare bankable feasibility reports and business plans which were in tune with extant needs of the people.

She revealed that over 250 beneficiaries who have so far uploaded their business plan to the NIRSAL website are on the verge of accessing their loans.

The Coordinator also stated that the NDE recently concluded a 5-day training programme for 50 women; tagged Covid-19 Mitigation training on spices production.

According to her, COVID -19 is a pandemic that struck the world in every aspect of human endeavour ranging from health to all other aspects. 

She expressed optimism that the training would help the beneficiaries to be more productive, self-reliant, "also reduce poverty drastically in the country."

In her remarks, Joyce Yarnap, the head of the Women Employment Branch; Small Scale Entreprises of the NDE headquarters, said the training was in line with the Directorate’s mandate of reducing unemployment in the country.

Yarnap who was represented at the occasion by Mrs Catherine Chima charged the women to make good use of the opportunity.