By Benjamin Omoike, Lagos

Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has urged youths to take advantage of the enablement of technology to harness the vast opportunities yet untapped in the agricultural sector of the country.

This call was made at the annual Youth Leadership Series (YLS), organised by the the leading financial solutions provider recently at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos. 

Stanbic IBTC has continued to make a mark in the lives of Nigerian youths by engaging and empowering them at the Youth Leadership Series.  This third edition had the theme ‘Techriculture – The Evolution’. The Stanbic IBTC YLS is a platform of engagement for the youth where business knowledge and experiences are shared. 

Delivering his opening remarks, Dr. Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, explained the core objective of YLS, which is to educate the youth on how to explore their innate potentials to become better business leaders.

He reiterated that technology and agriculture are critical sectors that have the capability of producing the next set of millionaires in Nigeria due to the vibrancy and profitability of the two industries.

According to Dr. Sogunle, “The Stanbic IBTC Youth Leadership Series is deliberately fashioned after our annual business leadership series, which is a platform created to engage and empower emerging business owners to become leaders in their various fields.”

Sunday Dare, Minister of Youths and Sports Development, who also spoke in similar vein, encouraged the youths to brace up and contribute positively to the development of the country. He further assured them that the government will continue to invest in the youths and set them on the path of success.
During the panel session, Seyi and Seun Abolaji, Co-Owners of the Wilson’s Juice Company, gave insights on how they started their lemonade business with little capital and how it has grown over the years.

They urged the participants to have a clear vision of their pursuits in life and urged them to never be discouraged with their humble beginnings.
Other panelists were Samson Ogbole, Chief Executive Officer and Lead Trainer, Farm lab and Miss Yewande Kazeem, Founder, Wandieville Media.

Samson Ogbole advised the young entrepreneurs to identify salient issues and design solutions to solve them. “To solve issues in any business, you must first get into that space and observe. Then you can identify the issues and design solutions to solve them through technology,” he said.

Yewande Kazeem also inspired the audience with her success story. She said, “the key thing is consistency. People will start appreciating you with time. Invest in yourself.”

Popular singer and songwriter, Sadiq Onifade, known professionally as WurlD, made a special appearance at the event.

In his closing remarks, Dele Sotubo, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Asset Management Plc, advised the participants to imbibe the values and knowledge they have learnt from the conference.

Stanbic IBTC remains keen on supporting youth-centric initiatives such as the YLS, given the importance of their demography to entrepreneurship drive, economic growth and national development.