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Lewanika calls for support to young entrepreneurs

Lewanika calls for support to young entrepreneurs
By Darious Kapembwa in Kitwe
Thu 02 Sep. 2010, 14:40 CAT

ZAMBIA’S Ambassador to Belgium Dr Inonge Mbikusita Lewanika has said there is need to support young entrepreneurs with untapped but vital potential to contribute to economic development.

During the business awards ceremony on Wednesday night in Kitwe where YAPYA Youth Investment Trust Zambia disbursed K8 billion to 17 youth entrepreneurs on the Copperbelt, Dr Lewanika said young people were a productive and progressive force in addressing the pressing challenges of economic development.

Dr Lewanika, who is also YAPYA Youth Investment Trust Zambia board chairperson, said her organisation believed that young people had the answers not only for today but also the vision for the future.

“Young people should not be objects of answers to be provided for by others today for some mythical tomorrow that never comes, as YAPYA we believe that the sooner we recognize this challenge, the quicker the development path will be laid because YAPYA Youth Investment Trust Zambia believes that young people can drive the nation forward through their innovativeness in managing their businesses,” said Dr Lewanika.

“It in this spirit and reason that the organization is promoting large scale investment in young people to accord them opportunities to engage in employment and wealth generating enterprises and during my tenure and service as Ambassador to the USA, none of my contributions and none of the secured assistance has given me greater pride and pleasure than this and I hope to continue to seek support for youths as Ambassador to Brussels where I am also accredited to European Union , Netherlands and Luxembourg.”

And YAPYA chief executive officer Likando Mukumbuta said some of the objectives of the organization were to create employment opportunities for young people by providing enterprise development support, industrial intermediation and technical and vocational training.

Mukumbuta said the organization was established in 2007 and had an important goal of transforming young people into a driving force to reach the country’s vision of becoming a middle income nation.

Some of the financiers of YAPYA include Friends of Zambia, Imagine Nations Group, the African Development Foundation and the Nike Foundation, all based in the USA.

Labels: AMBASSADOR, ENTREPRENEURS, INONGE MBIKUSITA-LEWANIKA, SMEs, YAPYA YOUTH INVESTMENT TRUST

posted by MrK @ 5:07 PM