In a country of nearly 250 million people, where more than 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 25, the demand for innovative, practical, and scalable solutions to youth unemployment has never been greater.
Some may question the rationale behind the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education) taking an active role in a space already occupied by the Ministry of Education and agencies such as the National Board for Technical Education. But in a nation with one of the world’s youngest populations—average age just 19—and a staggering unemployment crisis, the need for multi-pronged, cross-institutional, and dynamic interventions cannot be overstated.
According to a 2022 Jobberman Nigeria report, over 50 per cent of Nigerian youths are not only unemployed but also unemployable, reflecting deep gaps in skills, exposure, and enterprise readiness. This is precisely where the strategic relevance of the SSA’s office occupied by Dr. Abiola Arogundade becomes clear: it operates as an agile, impact-driven, and innovation-focused arm of government capable of designing programmes that respond directly to the realities of young Nigerians.
Among its many interventions, the UNLOCK Entrepreneurship Programme has quickly distinguished itself as a flagship initiative—one that is transforming the way Nigeria nurtures, equips, and funds the next generation of entrepreneurs.
The UNLOCK programme was conceived as a solution to two persistent barriers facing aspiring young entrepreneurs: the lack of structured, practical business training, and the lack of access to start-up capital. Rather than addressing these issues in isolation, the programme integrates both—offering a complete pipeline that begins with capacity building and ends with real financial support.
Interest in the programme was extraordinary. Over 10,000 young Nigerians applied, reflecting widespread recognition of the need for credible entrepreneurship support. From this pool, 7,000 candidates were enrolled into the training process—making UNLOCK one of the largest and most ambitious youth enterprise development programmes currently operating under the Nigerian government.
The training phase covered essential areas such as idea development, business feasibility, market research, branding, digital strategy, financial planning, operations, and investment readiness. Importantly, the programme prioritised practical outcomes over abstract theory. This commitment to tangible results is evident in the production of more than 1,200 formal business plans, each structured, market-tested, and investor-ready.
For the SSA’s office, this was not an exercise in mere participation but in building a generation capable of running sustainable, competitive enterprises.
The programme’s impact becomes even more profound at the funding stage. After rigorous assessments, 200 top-performing entrepreneurs were selected to receive ₦500,000 implementation grants. This intervention addresses a longstanding challenge: while many young Nigerians receive training, few receive the capital to actually bring their ideas to life. UNLOCK’s dual-approach—training followed by funding—ensures that promising ideas do not remain theoretical but transition into functional ventures.
Across tech, agriculture, creative industries, fashion, food processing, and other emerging sectors, these grant recipients now form part of a growing ecosystem of youth-led micro-enterprises positioned to create jobs, stimulate local economies, and contribute meaningfully to national development.
What sets the UNLOCK programme apart is its alignment with the Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly in the areas of job creation, youth empowerment, and MSME expansion. Micro and small businesses account for the vast majority of Nigeria’s enterprises; therefore, equipping young founders with both skills and capital is a strategic investment with long-term socioeconomic returns.
The transparent, metrics-driven design of the programme also sets a governance benchmark. From 10,000 applicants to 7,000 trained, from 1,200 business plans developed to 200 fully funded entrepreneurs, every phase is measurable, verifiable, and replicable. This structure is critical at a time when public trust in government interventions relies heavily on documented outcomes rather than political rhetoric.
Beyond the numbers, however, lies the human impact. For thousands of participants, UNLOCK provided direction, discipline, and confidence. For many, it marked the first time their ideas were taken seriously. For the funded entrepreneurs, it provided the resources needed to step into the world of business with both knowledge and financial backing.
At its core, the UNLOCK Entrepreneurship Programme is more than a skill initiative—it is a bold statement about what governance should look like: proactive, people-centred, forward-thinking, and measurable. It demonstrates what is possible when government recognises young people not as a problem to be managed but as assets to be developed.
As Nigeria continues to confront unemployment, economic uncertainty, and global competition, the work of the SSA to the President in the TVET and entrepreneurship space offers a blueprint for meaningful youth engagement. If scaled and sustained, UNLOCK has the potential not only to build businesses, but to build the future of a nation—one empowered young entrepreneur at a time.
EduTimes Africa, a product of Education Times Africa, is a magazine publication that aims to lend its support to close the yawning gap in Africa's educational development.
