by Akan Ido

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday launched the second phase of the YOUWIN programme at the Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

The YOUWIN! 2 is a variation of the first phase of the programme exclusively targeted at women entrepreneurs.

The first phase of the competition produced 1,200 winners who will be assisted to grow businesses which is expected to create a knock-on effect aimed at further stimulating the economy and create employment.

Among the 1,200, six outstanding awardees were given Presidential Awards by President Goodluck Jonathan in April as acknowledgement for the work they put into developing their businesses.

The president explained the rationale behind the restriction of the latest phase to women saying that women have demonstrated a proven track record in the effective management of grants to create opportunities compared to men.

He also cited the low turnout of women winners of the grant in the first phase of the scheme. According to reports, women comprised only 17% of the beneficiaries of that phase.

He said: “The first reason why we are focusing on women solely this time is that globally, the world talks about women and children. It is a topical point globally and Nigeria must be among the comity of nations.

“So, we must come up with programmes that will help women and protect and save lives of children, that is at the United Nations level. So, we must do things that other nations will copy from us, we should not only be copying from others.

“In another ways too, women, in terms of using small money to create opportunities, have done it better than men.

Winners of the YOUWIN! 2 competition are expected to receive grants of up to N10m, strategic guidance by experienced mentors, and technical support including functional websites to showcase their business innovation.