The Imo State Authorities has stated it was dedicated to addressing the unemployment problem within the state and boosting financial progress via the implementation of the ‘One Kindred, One Enterprise Initiative’ (OKOBI) which the administration has instituted.

Kenneth Amaeshi, a professor and Chief Financial Adviser to the Imo Authorities, restated this on the second OKOBI summit and inauguration of OKOBI College students’ Membership at Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe College (KOMU) at Ideato, Imo State, with the theme ‘Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe College Ideato Takes OKOBI to Orlu Zone.’

Kenneth Amaeshi is a professor of Sustainable Finance and Governance on the Faculty of Transnational Governance, College of Edinburgh/European College Institute. A world skilled in sustainable finance and financial growth.

Amaeshi famous that Imo has a inhabitants of roughly 5.5 million, and is working to reinforce its international visibility and popularity via this initiative.

The professor stated, “This OKOBI venture is concerning the story of Imo to the world. It isn’t restricted to only Imo or the South East.”

He stated that fifty p.c out of the about 3.5 million younger inhabitants of the state had been jobless, and that the state authorities solely employed about 40,000 individuals which included lecturers and civil servants out of the rising variety of the unemployed.

The professor stated: “This can be a recipe for catastrophe, and that may be a drawback the governor of Imo is bent on fixing via the OKOBI programme. Unemployment isn’t solely the issue of Imo; it is usually an issue of Africa.

“The World Financial institution knowledge says that about 60 p.c of African youths are unemployed and the inhabitants of Africa is nicely over a billion. Unemployment determine constitutes what some individuals have described as social warming similar to within the case of worldwide warming for the climate.”

He stated that Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo has began the ‘ability up Imo programme’ and is dedicated to coaching about 300,000 individuals with digital expertise.

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In accordance with him, the Talent Up Imo has been used to coach over 25,000 individuals at present.

“The governor additionally got here up with OKOBI to assist those that don’t match into the digital ability of Talent Up Imo. The entire thought is to allow unemployed Imo residents who share kindred spirit to create their very own companies. It’s a group-based entrepreneurship programme,” he stated.

The particular adviser stated that the state authorities has already registered about 400 OKOBI companies and engaged over 10,000 individuals inside 18 months of the programme, this as he suggested college students and different residents of the state to key into the programme, assuring them that the State Authorities is able to assist good enterprise concepts with start-up capital.

He recommended Ikechukwu Dozie, the Vice Chancellor of KOMU, for being the primary to draw the programme to a tertiary establishment and to Orlu Senatorial District.

In a welcome deal with, Dozie stated the theme of the summit was geared toward exploring actionable methods to increase the attain of the OKOBI motion into Orlu Zone and to foster an surroundings for sustainable financial progress.

Stating that since assumption of workplace because the substantive Vice Chancellor in 2021, the establishment has recorded quite a few achievements underneath his watch.

He highlighted the profitable accreditation of programmes by the Nationwide Universities Fee (NUC) and the commencement of three units of scholars and subsequent mobilisation for the Nationwide Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme.

“We now have efficiently held seven Public Lecture Sequence and preparations are on-going for the eight lectures. Certainly, we’ve restored public confidence in our establishment which is mirrored by a rise in enrolment from an estimated 320 college students in 2021/2022 educational session to about 1,400 college students within the 2024/2025 educational session.

“These modest achievements had been doable with the agency assist of the Governor, Sen. Hope Uzodinma, who not solely recovered the establishment and restored its unique standing as a public college however has continued to assist her progress and growth,” he stated.