The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) is stepping up its push for entrepreneurship, urging corps members to use the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme to build practical capabilities and create businesses rather than depend solely on paid employment.
NYSC Director-General Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu has repeatedly encouraged corps members to acquire additional skills through SAED and consider entrepreneurship as a route to financial independence and job creation. The NYSC’s official profile confirms Nafiu has served as director-general since March 2025.
The message has taken on greater importance as young graduates enter an economy where securing formal employment can be difficult. Rather than presenting entrepreneurship as a guaranteed substitute for salaried work, the scheme is positioning skills acquisition as an additional economic pathway for corps members.
SAED provides practical training and entrepreneurship development during the service year. The programme covers areas including vocational skills, agriculture, technology and other enterprise-oriented activities, with the NYSC describing its objective as empowering corps members through skills, training and mentorship.
The programme is also evolving to reflect changes in the economy. Recent NYSC initiatives have placed greater emphasis on digital capabilities, including newer technology-oriented training, while the scheme has continued to encourage corps members to pursue post-camp training after completing their initial orientation activities.
Nafiu has linked skills development directly to employment creation. In recent engagements with corps members, he urged them to look beyond conventional employment and pursue entrepreneurship that can make them financially independent while creating opportunities for others.
The emphasis is not entirely new. In January 2025, NYSC Director of Corps Welfare and Health Services Omotade Ayodele advised corps members not to rely exclusively on white-collar employment, describing SAED as a pathway towards financial independence.
But the success of the programme ultimately depends on whether training can translate into viable businesses. The NYSC itself acknowledged in 2025 that there was a significant gap between the number of corps members receiving vocational training and those who eventually become business owners. It called for greater support in areas including finance, mentorship, technical assistance and grants.
That gap is critical. Skills can improve employability, but sustainable entrepreneurship also requires access to capital, customers, infrastructure and business networks.
For Nigeria’s economy, a more entrepreneurial corps population could strengthen the pipeline of small businesses and help create jobs. But the broader challenge remains converting training into enterprises that can survive beyond the service year.
