By Edoamaowo Udeme
The European Union/ International Organization for Migration (EU-IOM) Joint Initiative, has since April 2017, empowered 2,051 Nigerian returnees (1,130 male and 921 female) in business trainings in Lagos, Edo, Nassarawa, Kano and Kaduna States, where they learn about the types of businesses they intend to launch, whether individually or collective.
The training which was funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, implemented by IOM in collaboration with the Government of Nigeria, offered in-kind reintegration assistance to help some returning migrants start their businesses.
According to the lead trainer, Osita Osemene, the projects are intended to benefit not only the individual returnees but also their communities of origin. “The training is now focused on having more sustainable businesses and not just regular trading, buying and selling. We are concentrated more on agriculture-related businesses because they are more sustainable and will add more value to the returnees’ communities,”
“In addition to collective reintegration schemes, other returnees will be supported under community-based projects, such as fruit juice, palm oil, palm kernel and plantain processing factories in Edo and Delta States — where most assisted returnees originate from”. Said Osemene
The trainings technical sessions focused on entrepreneurship, bookkeeping, supply chain management, as well as recommendations to develop a business idea. Returnees were also trained on ‘mindset reset’, where they had the opportunity to share experiences about their journeys abroad.
A participant named Blessing said, “I travelled on 26 May 2017 and paid a total sum of 500,000 Naira (approx. USD 1,400) from proceeds of my fish business in Benin City. I wanted to travel to Italy but was arrested at sea, spent a month and one week in prison and was assisted to return back to Nigeria in June 2018,”
Anita, another beneficiary, from Benin City, who has also started her palm oil produce business under the individual reintegration scheme said “Now, because of the training I know that I have hope again.”
“Before I travelled to Libya, I was into phone sales and repairs and palm oil production, but I left my business to migrate due to challenges like power outages,” said Onyekachi as she stood in a room full of fellow returnees. “With this training, my dream will come true because I have been grouped into an agriculture-based business.”
Onyekachi is one of 273 Nigerians returning from Libya who attended the business skills training in Lagos as part of their reintegration assistance organized by IOM, the UN Migration Agency.
Following this training IOM, in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and the Lagos Chamber of commerce and Industry (LCCI), will also organize a job fair at the end of September where returnees will have the opportunity to meet private sector leaders in Nigeria and search for job opportunities to match their skills.
The EU–IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration is a three-year program that has helped close to 10,000 Nigerian women, men and children return home voluntarily from countries such as Libya.
Funded by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, it has been set up in close cooperation with a total of twenty-six African countries, including thirteen across West and Central Africa.
The Training on Business Skills and Cooperatives for Returned Migrants is the 21st event held in Nigeria targeting returnees who wish to start businesses in their communities of origin. Some of the businesses already in motion include poultry farms, beauty salons and grocery shops. Reintegration assistance may also comprise medical treatment, education support and job placement.
