Access Bank partners NYSC to promote entrepreneurship with N30m grant

By Rosemary Iwuala

Access Bank Plc, through its Accesspreneur programme in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has empowered 20 NYSC corps members across the country with N30 million in grant.

The grant was given out to corps members with winning entrepreneurial ideas in Abuja, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Rivers states with the star winners receiving N1 million each, the bank said.

Adaeze Umeh, group head, consumer banking, Access Bank Plc, stated this during the NYSC Access Bank Accessprenuer competition held in Abuja recently..

“Access Bank has been in a strategic partnership with NYSC since 2016. The relationship further evolved into the launch of ‘Accessprenuer: The NYSC edition’ in February 2021,” Umeh said.

“So far, we have completed six editions of Accessprenuer competition, impacting over 390 corps members with over N165 million seed capital. We have also created a Facebook community for all Accessprenuer winners to be able to interact freely amongst themselves and inspire other young people with similar aspirations. The Facebook community has about 5,000 members,” she said.

Some of the beneficiaries of the Accessprenuer competition expressed their profound gratitude to the bank for the financial support, adding that it would go a long way in helping them to achieve their dreams.

Laura Momodu, Abuja star-prize winner, a fashion designer, thanked the bank for the gesture.

“I thank Access Bank. I didn’t expect to win because fashion designing is something that everybody does. I want to say that I do not take this for granted and you will definitely see my name on TVs and billboards,” Momodu said.

Also, the first runner-up, Vivian Charles, who was awarded with N750,000 for her ideas on healthy spices used for meals, was full of appreciation to the bank.

“I say a very big thank you to Access Bank; Access Bank has been able to help me achieve my dream in no small way. This is huge; this is massive to my business and will actually help me push forward and I pray that utilizing this cash for what it is actually meant for, my business will not just grow but be heard across the globe”, Charles said.

The bank also rewarded other corps members in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th-10th positions with N400,000, N250,000, N150,000, and N100,000, respectively.