Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria: The rising frauds in the Entrepreneurship Development Institute are quite alarming and are treating the federal government’s interventions by giving SMEs loans to boost the local economy and promote locally made products.
Many Nigerians become victims in search of the government’s interventions for startups and existing businesses.
To enlighten Nigerians to stay away from fraudsters and their traps, DAILY EPISODE interviewed Malam Adamu Gidado, the Kaduna state chairman of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), and the Funder, Chairman of the Gishirin Ma’aurata Skills acquisition.
Malam Gidado explains to DAILY EPISODE widely how the systems have been running, the problems, and the prospects. He also outlines how to verify the registered EDI, the process of training, and the approved amount to pay the training institute.
Our interview reads
Why did you initiate the Gishirin Ma’aurata skills acquisition center?
All thanks to the almighty Allah, we initiated Gishirin Ma’aurata to reduce the rate of unemployment and chances of job losses in Nigeria.
If you can remember, since the assumption of President Muhammadu Buhari in office, the Nigerian economy has drastically fallen into recession. I was touched by the economic downturn and how hard our young people went through it. So I initiated this organization to help as many as I can and, Alhamdulillah, we are winning the mission.
Gishirin Ma’aurata was duly registered in 2015 and we got licensed by CBN to operate as an EDI in 2018.
What is the process of your training?
The training is regulated by the CBN and Nirsal microfinance banks.
Every Entrepreneurship Development Institute will enroll and admit prospective applicants to their institutions.
Every applicant will be charged ten thousand (10,000) naira for the training and five thousand (5000) for the business plan as directed by the regulating bodies, and we don’t charge more than that.
After every training, certificates will be issued to participants.
We are also responsible for admitting participants and processing the AGSMEIS loan through Nirsal Microfinance bank.
How can one benefit from AGSMEIS?
Every interested individual or group must be trained by an accredited training institute like Gishirin Ma’aurata. After the training, we are responsible for admitting the candidate to the Nirsal portal, where we will also submit his business plan.
After that, the candidate will be interviewed by Nirsal microfinance bank and possibly benefit if he/she is duly passed.
We usually have issues with people as inpatients. The process is long and it really is the governments that are ready to support it.
So, people should not expect miracles by getting loans within one or three months.
Apart from the federal government loan, is there any benefit to the training?
Frankly speaking, the benefits are uncountable because experience is the best teacher. Even last month, we trained at least 250 people in Kaduna central and 250 in Kanchan, all in Kaduna State.
When you are trained with certain skills, you are empowered for life and are guaranteed to enjoy the fruit of your labor without waiting for the government or any relative to help.
We usually train our participants in creative thinking, the law of demand and supply, so they can be self-dependent.
How many courses or disciplines do you enroll in and teach your applicants?
We teach twenty-one courses for now, but we will soon introduce new courses.
The courses we teach are
- Leatherwork
- Wirework
- Catering
- Shoemaking
- Chemical work
- Tailoring
- Throw pillows
- Satellite installations
- CCTV camera training
- Poultry farming
- Fishery
- Carpentry
- Sack farming
- Makeup
- Bakery
- Welding
- Aluminum work
- Solar system
- Computer engineering
- Phone repair
- Farming
We also train every gender without an age barrier.
Nigerians have an attitude of not paying back loans at stipulated periods. Are the people trained by you paying?
To be honest with you, Nigerians have that attitude, but we have strategies to convince our people to pay back. At Gishirin Ma’aurata, we train people with a business mind and who are ready to progress. They paid because we supervised and guided them on a timely basis to avoid such a happening.
Have you been getting support from the royal fathers, religious leaders, or political office holders?
We are not in any way getting support from anyone despite the good work we are doing for people, but two senators have so far given us assignments to train their people. Senator Uba Sani, representing Kaduna central senatorial district, and one senator from Jigawa state.
How do you manage to eliminate fraudsters disguising your name or claiming to be registered or licensed EDI?
We have developed new strategies that can not be disclosed to the public, but we are aware of their illicit activities. We have whistleblowers and also provided numbers where anyone suspecting them should please call us for necessary action.
Lastly, what is your message to Nigerians?
I advise every Nigerian to acquire skills from verified and accredited EDI. Be vigilant and self-dependent. The Gishirin Ma’aurata doors are widely open for interested groups and individuals. Thank you
