Watch: Highlights from the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Youth Summit 2020

The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) on Thursday, September 24th, 2020, held the inaugural edition of its Youth Summit. The insightful event brought some of the most seasoned speakers and professionals together, to guide Nigerian youths on how to reposition to take advantage of the emerging Global Economy. Speakers at the virtual summit included the Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, Ibukun Awosika, Chairman, First Bank of Nigeria and Human capital and transformational coach, Jimi Tewe. Recordings of the speaker sessions can be accessed here 

The Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, spoke on the topic, ‘Strategic Roadmap for Youth Development post-COVID-19’. In his speech, he encouraged youths to turn current challenges into opportunities that guarantee employment and productivity.

Also speaking at the event, the Keynote speaker and Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria, Ibukun Awosika, elaborated on the topic, “Nigerian Youth: Reskilling for Self and National Development.” She made a case for the development of vocational and entrepreneurial skills, noting that the era of relying on academic knowledge alone was long gone. “The youth should look at their role within an organisation with the eyes of a business owner”, she said.

Human capital and transformational coach, Jimi Tewe, was also a speaker at the event. During his presentation titled: ‘Positioning Yourself for Personal and Career Growth‘, he said, “if you need a job, you need useable and applicable knowledge post-COVID because in every crisis lies the seed of opportunities.”

He highlighted green collar, blue-collar, digital economy, gig economy, renewable energy distribution, and supply chain, as well as the education economy, as the seven opportunity areas young people can explore despite the uncertainties caused by the pandemic. 

Corporates Endorse Nigeria Business League for Youth

The Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Nigerian Bottling Company, Matthieu Seguin; Nigerian Breweries, Jordi Borrut Bel; Cadbury Nigeria, Oyeyimika Adeboye; IBM, Dipo Faulkner, and VEROD Capital Management, Danladi Verhijer among others have endorsed the Nigeria Business League for Youth.

The Nigeria Business League for Youth is a private sector initiative which was spearheaded by the Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) to remove obstacles impeding opportunities for youth in the country to succeed in their chosen career paths.  The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare had the honour of the launching the League during the recent NBC’s 2020 Youth Summit.

Affirming Nigerian Breweries support for the Nigeria Business League for Youth, the company’s CEO, Borrut Bel, thanked NBC for the initiative and highlighted its interventions for uplifting Nigerian youths. “We are passionate about winning with Nigerians; winning with Nigerians means we understand that we are part of the society and this society is largely comprised of youths. This is a serious commitment from our own side as well and we are happy to join this league.”

Also speaking, the MD of Cadbury, Oyeyimika Adeboye, said it was time the private sector worked with the government to secure the future of Nigerian youths. 

“Our contribution from the private sector is to work with government and to partner with the government to ensure that our youths are prepped for the future of Nigeria. So, our commitment as Cadbury Nigeria is to work with various private sector enterprises to partner and help to develop our youths and we do this in various ways.”

Chigozie Ejimogu, who represented the MD of Verod Capital, Danladi Verhijer, also affirmed the firm’s commitment to the Nigeria Business League for Youth while commending the initiative.

“We know this is an investment in Nigeria’s future. So, we are honoured to be part of this investment today. We would like to commend the sponsors of this programme. We give our kudos to the visionaries behind it, and we will support solidly in any way we can. Building on what we are already doing, finding courage from what we have seen today, and having the motivation to expand our scope and do more for Nigerian youths.”

Commenting on the coalition, Managing Director, NBC, Matthieu Seguin said, “it is obvious that a consortium of efforts, a network of private sector organizations will go a long way in addressing the issues youths face, in alignment with the National Youth Policy. Together, we can do more and better and in partnership with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government, we will empower the Nigerian youth to drive the 21st Century economy for Nigeria”.

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