Local Enterprises and Skills Development Programme (LESDEP) has signed an MOU to soon begin its operations in Niger.

The programme which will be undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of Training and Employment of Niger, seeks to provide training and skills development to the West African Nation’s teeming youth to help reduce unemployment, develop the human resource capacity of the youth and women in Niger.

Under the terms of agreement, LESDEP will help in the deployment of trainers in Niger, provide one hundred (100) repair kits and mobile phones, hundred (100) sewing machines as well as provide educational materials and equipment for the phase one of the programme after which the second phase will begin.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of Training and Employment of Niger, Nana N'gade Hadiza Noma Kaka said that the Government of Niger is committed to fighting poverty and developing the youth to start up business of their own hence the collaboration with LESDEP.

She added that, her ministry has conducted a feasibility studies to identify the key areas in which the technology transfer would take place as well as beneficiaries for the training. She intimated as part of measures to ensure that their efforts would not be futile, a monitoring and evaluation team would be in place to assess the progress or otherwise of the programme.

A representative of LESDEP Ghana, Mr. Rohit Khattar said that the collaboration was an opportunity to replicate the good works of LESDEP and also to train the required manpower to deal with the issue of poverty. “This collaboration is the beginning of greater things to come, as more and more people are trained under this programme, the issue of youth unemployment is solved”, he added.

LESDEP is a private sector initiative which is implementing a Public Private Partnership entrepreneurial and skills development programme with the Government of Ghana.

So far about 68,000 people have benefitted from various forms of LESDEP training in Ghana.

These are in hairdressing, food processing, transportation and photography business, mobile phone assembling and repairs among others.