Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Federal Government has unveiled the YouthCred programme to accommodate 400,000 young Nigerians, just as it encourages National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members to take advantage of the initiative. 

YouthCred is a national credit scheme aimed at providing affordable consumer credit to 400,000 young Nigerians, including NYSC members. 

Speaking Thursday in Abuja while flagging off the scheme at the orientation camp for NYSC Batch B Stream 1 members,  the Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, described it as a bold step towards empowering young Nigerians and giving them a solid footing in a credit-based economy.

The sum of N9 billion has been earmarked for the first phase of the programme, and specifically, it will see eligible corps members accessing up to N200,000 single-digit interest loan. 

Olawande argued that what many Nigerian youths need is not a handout but access to structured credit and a government that sees them as partners in national development.

He said: “This is no longer about cosmetic policies. We are talking about structural empowerment. For the first time, you have a president that is not just ruling but leading. That’s the difference.”

He acknowledged scepticism among young Nigerians towards government initiatives, attributing it to decades of disconnect.

The initiative, he noted, will kick off with NYSC members across all 774 local governments and over 8,000 electoral wards of the country, stressing that the goal is to eventually extend the programme to all Nigerian youths, including those in informal sectors without access to traditional banking.

The minister also unveiled a new slogan for the ministry: ‘One Youth, Two Skills,’ urging corps members to leave the orientation camp with at least two marketable skills. This, he said, would eventually feed into a broader goal of ‘One Local Government, One Product,’ anchored on youth-driven enterprise.

He lauded President Bola Tinubu for his support as well as the Managing Director/CEO of CREDICORP, Mr. Uzoma Nwagba, for initiating the scheme. 

Earlier, Nwagba explained that the loan scheme aimed to cater to various needs such as relocation expenses, buying work equipment or tools, skills development and financing small-scale enterprises. 

He emphasized that the programme seeks to offer a viable alternative to predatory lenders also known as ‘loan sharks’, providing a more affordable and sustainable credit option for beneficiaries.

The managing director urged corps members to take advantage of the programme, noting that timely repayment would enable others to benefit from the initiative in the future.

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