Geared Up: Strides towards changing the narrative of Nigerian youths

“The Nigerian Dream” is not a common phrase amongst the average Nigerian youths, as the environment itself largely influences a survival mentality that barely leaves room for lofty dreams. An environment, where youth poverty and other challenges facing the average Nigerian youth are as obvious as a floating red flag in the bright morning sky.

However, it is not all gloom and doom. With a population nearing 200million and the youth making up over 60% of that number, we are a nation with unlimited and untapped potential, largely due to poor short-sighted leadership and resource management. It is all about perspective.

Do you know that?

In view of the recent Libya slave trade saga in which a lot of Nigerian youths who in search of greener pastures drowned at sea or found themselves in torture camps or worst still sold into slavery for $400. Not to mention the prediction of Nigeria becoming the country with the largest number of poor people by February 2018, it is obviously high time for Nigerian youths to seize their future and do it now with the right form of support from veterans and established personalities.

So what are going to do about this? Go to war?

The Geared Up Initiative is an economic empowerment campaign driven by a network of young Nigerians from all walks of life and realities, who are fed up with the status quo and are willing to go the extra mile to change the narrative by developing ideal businesses or ideas that have the capacity to generate exponential returns and create jobs massively – directly and indirectly.

Comprising of an advisory board and project team of individuals with track record in advancing youth capital development, the selected businesses / ideas for the project roll-out cuts across various industries and sectors such as agriculture, environmental / waste management, digital technology, education, hospitality, sports and tourism.

The objective and approach of the Geared Up Initiative is to leverage the power and reach of media to drive awareness for youth owned businesses that have been reviewed to be ideal, with the aim of:

Gaining investor interest and investment funding
Accessing support funds to drive business / idea scaleup
Access enterprise advancement support e.g sales facilitation, service boost etc.

Attract positive attention for Nigerian youth entrepreneurial endeavors as well as existing challenges and opportunities.

Facilitate strategic bootstrapping of these businesses or ideas to ensure growth and ability to internally generate needed funds for scale up.

It is worthy to note that some of the business entries were selected and won the Don Etiebet Innovative Prize Award even before the full project rollout.

This is a clarion call to well-meaning individuals world over to help our audacious goal of changing the average youth narrative and driving economic growth.

More information about the project, businesses and support / investment benefits can be found on

www.234central.com/geared-up

#GearedUp_9ja

…Let us seize the future today!

A letter from John

My bucket hat donned my head. It served the scorching sun right, my scalp was not one to be burnt for no offense. I relaxed my tired body against the board of the trawler. James yelled at me, "Don't just sit there and watch I and father. We will still catch some fishes, you can't just lose hope",he seemed to say. I peered at him through the corner of my eyes and closed them again. I felt cold water being sprinkled on me and I jerked up. It was father, I had no choice but stand up and join James.. I was not a man who wanted too many things. All I wanted was to catch some fishes yet the little things kept hiding and refusing to walk into the loving embrace of my fishing net. I may not desire many things but I sure desired to be loved not the kind of erotic love some of those Samaritan women would profess to men who lust after whore mongering. I sought for a love that was pure and chaste. A type that I couldn't even explain. I sought to be loved deeply by G...

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