Chief Sir Ebuka Onunkwo, NDC Senatorial Candidate for Anambra South and Founder of Seahorse Lubricant Industries Limited, has called for government backed loans at single digit interest rates to enable trained apprentices establish their own businesses.
Onunkwo said apprenticeship remains an important pathway for young people to acquire practical skills, but many apprentices struggle to become independent after completing their training because they lack the capital needed to establish workshops, purchase equipment and commence production.
He made the call while advocating policies that would bridge the gap between skills acquisition and entrepreneurship among young people.
According to him, government intervention should go beyond training by providing affordable startup finance that would enable skilled youths to translate their knowledge into sustainable businesses and eventually become employers of labour.
Onunkwo said a structured loan scheme with single-digit interest rates would make capital more accessible to young entrepreneurs without exposing them to the high interest rates that often threaten the survival of new businesses.
He also proposed proper identification, training and certification of apprentices, with access to government-backed loans linked to the skills acquired and viable business plans.
The NDC candidate stressed that financial support must be complemented with basic infrastructure, including reliable electricity, good roads and industrial clusters where young entrepreneurs and manufacturers can operate at lower production costs.
He identified electricity as one of the major expenses confronting businesses, suggesting that government could establish independent power facilities within industrial clusters.
According to him, businesses operating within such clusters could share power infrastructure, thereby reducing their individual electricity costs and improving their competitiveness.
Onunkwo also emphasised the importance of good road networks, noting that efficient transportation infrastructure would help businesses move their products to markets across the South-East and other parts of Nigeria.
He said combining practical skills with affordable finance, reliable electricity and functional infrastructure would create a stronger pathway from apprenticeship to entrepreneurship, job creation and economic development.
Onunkwo therefore called for policies and legislation that would make affordable capital more accessible to young Nigerians, particularly those who have acquired practical skills but lack the financial capacity to establish themselves.
