Plateau State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Musa Ashoms, addressing newsmen shortly after the graduation and starter pack distribution ceremony in Jos
Plateau State Government has unveiled a ₦4 billion loan scheme to support youth-led businesses, as part of a broader push to stimulate economic growth and job creation in the state.
Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Musa Ashoms, announced this at the graduation and starter pack distribution ceremony for the first batch of 153 beneficiaries of the Plateau Youth Employment and Skills Acquisition (PLAYESA) programme in Jos.
Ashoms explained that the facility would be financed through a ₦2 billion bank credit line alongside a ₦2 billion counterpart contribution from the government. He stressed that the scheme is designed to empower young entrepreneurs with access to loans to either launch or scale their businesses.
He said: “You recall that on the day of the inauguration of this training, we made mention that we have raised a supplementary budget of ₦2 billion. Just two days back, we had a meeting with young people so that we would look at the Plateau Building Agency. We brought in 302 of them to the Citizenship and Leadership Training Centre, and they had an interface with the governor here.
“He announced that we have a package where a bank is willing to give us ₦2 billion, and the government is going to bring counterpart funding of ₦2 billion to make it ₦4 billion, so that we’ll give our young people loans to start up businesses.”
“The microeconomic environment will be boosted by their activities. At the end of the day, we will have people making money and contributing to the economy of Plateau State and Nigeria at large.”
The PLAYESA initiative, which targets 250 youths across the state’s 17 local government areas, offers training in ICT, fashion design, and leather works. Graduates received starter packs, including industrial sewing machines, HP touchscreen laptops, and seed capital to enable them to establish their businesses.
Ashoms further noted that the initiative reflects Governor Caleb Mutfwang’s commitment to youth empowerment, adding that 1,000 young people had already been deployed to BARC Farms, while others were undergoing leadership training at the National Defence College and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
On transparency, he explained that the selection process was competitive and inclusive, with parents involved to ensure accountability.
Zonal Coordinator of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, Mrs. Deborah Simon Pitmang, commended the state for fully utilising the Federal Youth Centre in Jos for the programme.
“In the North Central zone, there are centres in Benue, Kwara, Niger and here in Plateau. But the most viable of all is the one in Jos. This is the very first time Plateau has fully utilized the centre,” she said, urging beneficiaries to form cooperative clusters to strengthen their businesses.
One of the beneficiaries, Peter Daboer, described the programme as transformative. “We were trained in structured bag-making, digital literacy, and sewing. This programme has rekindled our dreams and given us the confidence to pursue our goals and contribute to Plateau’s growth,” he said.
