By: Goodluck E.Adubazi, Abuja.

The National Coordinator of NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE), Dr. Sameera Abubakar Abdullahi, has challenged Nigerian youths to harness technology, entrepreneurship, innovation and the nation’s rich cultural heritage to build sustainable enterprises and drive economic development.

Abdullahi made the call in Abuja while welcoming participants to the 2026 International Youth Day Summit organised by the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs under the theme, “From Cultural Roots to Green Shoots: Leveraging Technology, Heritage & Policy for Youth-led Sustainable Development.”

The summit attracted young entrepreneurs, business leaders, policymakers, government officials, innovators, development partners, academics and other stakeholders.

Abdullahi, who is the host of the summit, said the theme was particularly relevant to Nigeria as the country seeks to harness the creativity, energy and entrepreneurial capacity of its growing youth population.
She stressed that young Nigerians should no longer be regarded merely as beneficiaries of government interventions but as critical partners in building the country’s future.

According to her, an enabling environment must be created to provide young entrepreneurs with access to mentorship, finance, technology, markets and supportive policies to enable them expand their businesses and create jobs.

She also urged youths to combine Nigeria’s cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge with modern technology and innovation to develop products and solutions capable of competing globally.

Abdullahi said the summit was designed to connect young Nigerians with business leaders, policymakers, investors and development partners, insisting that such engagements must result in practical outcomes rather than speeches and ceremonial gatherings.

She urged participants to build strong networks, acquire relevant knowledge, identify opportunities and develop solutions to challenges confronting their communities.

Representing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Special Assistant to the President on Youth Initiatives, Dr. Mrs. Titi Oge, described the summit as an important platform for discussing the future of Nigerian youths and the role of technology, heritage and policy in national development.

Oge challenged young entrepreneurs to move beyond admiring technology, cultural heritage and government policies and learn how to leverage them to achieve measurable results.

She said the concept of “leverage” required young people to identify opportunities capable of producing results greater than the resources initially invested.

The presidential aide urged entrepreneurs to examine whether technology was effectively solving challenges in their businesses, particularly in distribution, financing, customer management and market access.

She also encouraged young Nigerians to understand government policies and funding programmes so they could take advantage of available opportunities when application windows opened.

Oge cited Nollywood and Afrobeats as examples of how Nigerian youths had successfully transformed cultural assets into major economic industries.

She said the country’s cultural heritage, when deliberately combined with technology and supportive public policies, could generate new enterprises, innovation and sustainable prosperity.

She further cited the traditional Igbo apprenticeship system, Igba Boy, as an indigenous model of business incubation that could be adapted to modern entrepreneurship.

Oge urged young entrepreneurs to formalise their businesses, protect their intellectual property and take advantage of existing digital infrastructure rather than spending scarce resources attempting to build every facility from scratch.

She also encouraged youths to explore government initiatives, including the Nigeria Youth Investment Fund, while stressing the importance of formal business registration and participation in organised business associations.

“Young entrepreneurs must make themselves findable by the policies and programmes designed to support them,” she said.

Oge also called on youths to participate actively in governance and hold government accountable, stressing that Nigeria’s future could not be built without their active participation.

Also speaking, Mr. Tony Oladiran, who represented the Chief Executive Officer of Goody Chemicals Limited, Engr. Godwin Etem, declared the summit open and urged young Nigerians to take responsibility for creating opportunities for themselves.

Oladiran commended NACCIMA and the organisers for providing a platform to address issues affecting young Nigerians, noting that the country possessed one of the greatest assets any nation could have—a young and energetic population.

He, however, warned that a youthful population alone was not enough, stressing the need to transform Nigeria’s demographic advantage into a skilled, productive and innovative workforce.

According to him, youth development should not be left to government alone but must involve businesses, educational institutions, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, parents and the youths themselves.

He urged young Nigerians not to wait for someone to rescue them but to prepare themselves to create opportunities.
“Learn, work, build and innovate,” he urged, advising youths not to be ashamed of starting small.

Oladiran noted that while academic certificates remained important, they were no longer sufficient in a highly competitive global economy.

He therefore encouraged young Nigerians to acquire practical skills, digital knowledge, creativity and problem-solving abilities.

He also called on businesses to invest in young people through mentorship, internships, training, partnerships and access to markets.

In his goodwill message, the Philippine Ambassador to Nigeria, Merosole J. Mellejor, expressed support for Nigerian youths and encouraged greater collaboration, networking and access to resources to help young people turn their aspirations into reality.

Mellejor urged youths to remain fearless, draw strength from their cultural roots and embrace opportunities created by innovation and technology.

The ambassador also highlighted Nigeria’s mineral resources and other productive sectors, saying they could help reduce dependence on imported goods, create employment and open new opportunities for young entrepreneurs.

He urged the youths to embrace sustainable development and ensure that activities undertaken today did not compromise the interests of future generations.

Across the various goodwill messages and addresses, speakers agreed that Nigeria’s youthful population must be transformed from a demographic advantage into a productive force for economic growth.

They called for stronger collaboration among government, the private sector, business associations, development partners and young entrepreneurs to expand access to finance, technology, mentorship, markets and skills.

The summit therefore served not only as a celebration of International Youth Day but also as a platform for practical discussions on transforming cultural heritage into economic value, technology into opportunity and public policy into sustainable development.

For NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs, the message from the summit was clear: Nigerian youths must not wait for the future.

They must acquire the necessary skills, build sustainable enterprises, embrace their cultural heritage, leverage technology and actively participate in shaping the Nigeria they want to inherit.