Consolidated Alliance Nigeria YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME THROUGH TOURISM SERVICE VALUE CHAIN 31ST AUGUST, 2015
August 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS Project Summary...1 Background...2 Logical Framework...3 Purpose of the Project...4 Action and Implementation Programmes...5 Rationale...6 Benefits...7
PROJECT SUMMARY Program name: Youth and Tourism Empowerment Programme (YTEP). Geographic scope: Entire country Expected Outcomes and Outputs: The expected outcomes are: (a) Youth businesses set up to reduce youth unemployment. (b) Improved environment for tourism investments; and (c) Improved access to travel services and real-time information. This will be achieved through the following output level results: (i) Database on youth development established; (ii) Youth trained in enterprise development Programme direct beneficiaries: The direct beneficiaries are primarily: (i) the unemployed potential young entrepreneurs located in all 36 states of the Federation, including women, who will receive business management and entrepreneurship training and will have access to employment information and access to MSME finance; (ii) selected ministries working on youth, SME, and tourism, whose capacities and access to information will be improved for better policy and strategy formulation. The indirect beneficiaries will include all stakeholders in the tourism sector who will benefit from an improved enabling environment. Needs Assessment The tourism sector is considered one of the major pillars of the Nigerian economy but its performance is weakened by a poor enabling environment. Youth make up 42% of the population but are faced by high levels of unemployment and underemployment. The country also faces challenges resulting from dilapidated and outdated IT equipment, and working systems. In this regard, consolidated alliance will provide capacity building support to the key sectors of tourism, youth and SME development, which forms the basis of the design and prioritization of interventions under this programme. By supporting the strengthening of institutions responsible for youth, entrepreneurship, skills and tourism development, consolidated alliance will foster aspects of Private Sector Development and improve the enabling environment, which are important in sustaining the economic recovery. Knowledge Management The programme will contribute to building knowledge for similar interventions in other sector, as well as building knowledge within the tourism industry towards improving the efficiency and effectiveness of consolidated alliance assistance to the country. Lessons learned and experience gained will be available to inform future operations. 1
BACKGROUND The world economy is evolving into a service driven economy as reliance on value-based service increases. The growth of the service sector has long been considered as an indicator of a country's economic progress. Services are continually being launched to satisfy existing needs, as well as other needs that are not yet known. The world economic history tells us that all developing nations have invariably experienced a shift from agriculture to industry and then to the service sector as the mainstay of the economy. As of 2008, services constituted over 50% of GDP in low income countries. As their economies continue to develop, the importance of service sector continues to grow. For instance, services accounted for 47% of economic growth in sub-saharan Africa over the period 2000-2005, while industry only contributed 37% and agriculture 16% in that same period. This means that recent economic growth in Africa relied as much on services as on natural resources or textiles, despite many of those countries benefiting from trade preferences in primary and secondary goods. As a result of these changes, people are leaving the agricultural and industrial sector to find work in the service economy. This job creation is particularly useful as often it provides employment for unskilled workers in the tourism and retail sectors, which benefits the poor and represents an overall net increase in employment. Nigeria as a country has for the past years depends solely on the oil for its revenue generation and job creation, but with the dwindling in the oil prices in the global market, and the new administration calls for Change, service economy and tourism value chain becomes key in income generation and economic empowerment. According to reports, tourism is today the greatest employer of labour, which contributes about 9.3% to the global GDP with the Gambia contributing 17.7%, Egypt 13%, South Africa 9%, Mexico 11.9%, Kenya 12%, Brazil 7.8%, Cuba 6% and Nigeria 4%. With the unemployment rate in Nigeria soaring over the years, and its related vices of crime and social insecurity, it behooves the governments and private enterprises to respond rapidly by investing in the service sector of the economy, so as to create more jobs for the teeming Nigeria underemployed and unemployed population. Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) is key to real sector growth in any economy, and if duly encouraged, they can help create more jobs thereby reducing the high level of unemployment, and consequentially helping to reduce the citizens' over-dependence on government. 2
LOGICAL FRAMEWORK The Youth and Tourism Empowerment Programme is an entrepreneurial network business platform to create jobs and empower young Nigerians/entrepreneurs through service delivery on tourism service value chain. The Programme is expected to provide jobs for about five million (5,000,000) Nigerians between 2015 and 2020. So far, the pilot scheme which was launched about 18 months ago has recorded huge success, as some of the participants are today earning about one hundred and fifty thousand naira (N150, 000) monthly, as income. 3
Purpose of the Project 1. To Contribute towards the Reduction of Poverty and Youth Unemployment through the Improvement of the Enabling Environment for Youth and Tourism Development. 2. Support the development of data driven tourism services for operational efficiency and brand loyalty. 3. Foster cooperation among the widest possible number of actors along the tourism value chain 4. Facilitate public private partnership 4
Action and Implementation Programmes 1. Tourism products tailored on the need of the consumers 2. Discussion platforms, focus groups, fora, workshops and similar initiatives; 3. Capacity-building, and training for Individual and Corporate Organization 4. Networking and partnering activities 5. Encourage a better cooperation and increased agreements among different actors of the tourism value chain 5
RATIONALE The rationale for the proposed programme is aligned with the Nigeria Tourism Master Plan (2006) which outlines the priorities for economic recovery and inclusive growth. It identified tourism as one of the six priority areas for development, recognizing its key role in poverty alleviation and generation of employment, physical environmental enhancement and cultural and social issues, including HIV/Aids as central issues in the plan. The Tourism Master Plan equally prioritizes the youth development noting the importance of increasing the participation rate of youth in national economic activities. Through the strengthening of capacity in relevant institutions, the proposed programme aims at contributing towards addressing a number of development challenges the country is facing, such high levels of unemployment, particularly amongst the youth, skills gaps in the tourism sector and the high level of poverty. The programme is aligned with the objectives and priorities of the economic blue print rolled at your inauguration. Consolidated alliance recognises the need to deepen and consolidate the private support for capacity building in the areas of Tourism and Youth Development. The proposed programme is also consistent with the countries tourism master plan by fostering inclusive growth through a drive for increased youth and women participation in economic growth 6
BENEFITS The Programme aims to contribute towards the reduction of unemployment, particularly amongst the youth, through improving the enabling environment for tourism development. This will enhance and leverage the impact of the Country's Medium Term Plan on economic recovery and poverty reduction through increasing foreign investments into the tourism sector and providing reliable information on youth economic development activities for informed decision making. The impact on poverty and all other cross cutting areas will therefore be indirect, but significant. The programme will promote gender balance through the training program, and support collection and processing of gender disaggregated data through the management information systems to be strengthened. 7