The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in collaboration with Lelook Bags Academy, has trained 100 Nigeria youths.
The training was in bag making, to enable the youths key into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Ms. Elsie Attafuah, UNDP Resident Representative for Nigeria, said this at the graduation ceremony of the students in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Attafuah, the event emphasises the importance of leveraging AfCFTA to foster intra-African trade and economic growth.
While stating the transformative potential of AfCFTA, she said that intra-African trade, remained at a mere 16.6 per cent of the continent’s population of 1.4 billion
She emphasised that Nigeria, as the continent’s largest economy, engaged in only about 10 per cent of this trade, indicating substantial room for growth.
Attafuah stressed the need to connect individuals to opportunities, markets, and knowledge, with a particular focus on supporting women’s roles in trade.
She announced initiatives to link women to essential information, networks and financing, aiming to ensure that AfCFTA served as a practical tool for inclusive development.
Addressing the graduates, Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lelook Bags Academy, emphasised the significance of discipline, continuous learning, and innovation.
She urged them to view their acquired skills as instruments to break cycles of poverty, build generational wealth and create lasting impact.
Ezenwa urged the graduates to be proactive in building opportunities and leading change, emphasising that Africa’s development in trade would be significantly driven by women.
Also, a former Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, applauded LeLook Bags’ impactful training of 100 youths in bag manufacturing.
Tallen reiterated the international competitiveness of LeLook’s products and emphasised the importance of such initiatives in providing sustainable livelihoods for young Nigerians
She urged the public to support locally made products like LeLook bags, which rivals international brands in quality and design.
Dr Asabe Bashir, Director-General of the Mariam Babangida National Centre for Women Development, commended he high standards of LeLook’s products.
Bashir announced plans for collaboration with the Academy to enhance vocational training programmes in the country.
She said that such initiatives not only uplift individuals, but also contributed ignificantly to Nigeria’s economic growth by fostering self-reliance and entrepreneurship among women and youths.
“These endorsements underscores the critical role of skill acquisition and local manufacturing in driving economic development and reducing unemployment in Nigeria,” she said.
Mr Desmond Toover, one of the graduating students, speaking on behalf of the class, thanked the UNDP and Lelook for the support and opportunity.
” We are more than a graduating class. We are a collective force, each of us bringing unique talents and perspectives that, when combined, can create extraordinary outcomes.
” We are deeply grateful to the phenomenal UNDP and Lelook Bags for their unwavering support and guidance throughout this training,” he said.
