Hope Builders’ Skill Development and Acquisition Foundation Opens Entrepreneurship Hub in Lagos

A non-governmental organization, Hope Builders Skill Development and Acquisition Foundation (HBF), on Monday, September 5, 2022 opened a state of the art entrepreneurship Hub in Ipaja, Lagos state.

A non-profit organization established in 2003, the Director of HBF, Mrs. Folayemisi Adu while speaking at the event said their mission is to educate, develop entrepreneurship skills and offer scholarship to the less privileged in the society.

In their over two decades of operation, HBF boasts to have trained more than 5000 youth and women who are doing well in various skills. They have also registered 232 businesses with CAC free of charge for their trainees. Some of these businesses have access to market and funding through their aftercare support.

Ms. Bababusola Oluwaseyi, the CEO of Isedola Sustainable Crafts Enterprises and a beneficiary of the munificence of HBF, while speaking at the event, thanked the Director and the NGO for the role played in her life and business. She noted that the training by HBF in partnership with GIZ-GOPA afforded her a rare privilege of being a member of the Cohort1 Green Tech program of future Female Business School sponsored by UK NG Tech Hub. She noted that she has been able to exhibit her products in MSME exhibitions and Trade fairs. Ms. Bababusola, a beauty queen, is preparing to contest in and to be crowned as the next Nigeria Most Beautiful Girl, 2022.

Director of HBF, Mrs. Folayemisi Adu (2nd from left) with inspectors from W.A.P.A

HBF has played important roles in the lives of many youth in Alimosho and beyond over the past two decades. Some of their past programs include Computer Training for more than 100 youth, teaching unemployed youth French language to boost their CV, HIV/AIDS awareness lectures and rallies, Skills acquisition trainings, mentorship programs, personal empowerment trainings, Capacity building programs, vocational and entrepreneurship trainings, entrepreneur and leadership programs, direct reach out to the needy during the COVID-19 lockdown and many more.

Director, Mrs. Folayemisi Adu (3rd from right) and her staff at the Hub

The entrepreneurship Hub located at House 46, 2nd avenue, Peace Estate, Baruwa, Ipaja, Lagos, has six rooms equipped with training gadgets used for Fashion design. They are however reaching out to well-meaning individuals and companies for gadgets in other skills like Hairdressing and Barbing, Printing, Photography, Catering, Phone repairs, desktops and laptops and so much more. The entrepreneurship hub is the Centre for Aftercare/Incubation support services which caps the INSPIRE, CREATE, START and SCALE (ICSS) courses.  An entrepreneurship training sponsored by the German Corporation under GIZ-SEDIN/GOPA held in February to June, 2022. They offer both skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship development trainings.

Also present at the opening was a team of inspectors from the Lagos state ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) led by a Director of the Ministry, Mrs. Itunnu Babarinde who expressed her delight in the opening of the Hub and admonished that it should be used to impart positively in the lives of those that really need the trainings.

"We will be running entrepreneurship trainings from October 2022 in modules for employability skills, business ideation and how to start and run a viable business. Participants will learn how to write bankable business plans, PITCH their business to would-be investors and also get access to mentors and coaches," Mrs. Adu noted.

some of the trainees at the Hub with the Director