PREMIUM TIMES, partners launch maiden Employability Summit (LIVE UPDATES)

PREMIUM TIMES today kicks off its inaugural Employability Summit, which plans to host thought leaders in manufacturing, financial consultancy, advisory services, the government and academia for a dialogue on the strategies needed to address youth unemployment in contemporary Nigeria.

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The event, holding at Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel, Ozumba Mbadiwe, Victoria Island, Lagos, is titled: “Converting Nigeria’s Demography into Assets.”

It is organised to feature panel discussions, keynote addresses, plenary sessions and fireside chats.
The initiative will hold several engagements on improving the innovative and employability potential of Nigerians for capacity building, aimed at driving socio-economic development on a large scale.

Organisers say it “serves as a platform not just for conversation, but for commitment and action – inspiring stakeholders to reimagine the future of work and take bold steps to build a resilient, inclusive, and opportunity-rich Nigerian economy.”

READ ALSO: Profile: NESG chair, 7-Up MD, Obi Asika, others to speak at PREMIUM TIMES Employability Summit

PREMIUM TIMES is partnering with Business School Netherlands, 7-Up and The SME Scale Up, a platform focused on tackling joblessness and reducing the rate of small business failure in Nigeria, to hold the event.

Participants are up for high-level insights on digital innovation, vocational training, entrepreneurship development and skill acquisition.

Among the top speakers are Niyi Yusuf (chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group), Ziad Maalouf (managing director, 7-Up Bottling Company), Uyi Akpata (former country partner, PwC Nigeria) and Feyisayo Alayande (executive secretary, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund), among others.

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PREMIUM TIMES is providing the live feed of the event as it unfolds.

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The summit comes to an end.

Thank you for joining us.

1:59 pm: Mr Olawoyin gives the closing remark.

1:56 pm: Ajibola Babalola, who is representing the executive secretary of Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, discloses the agency’s role in curbing unemployment, having trained about 25,000 young people so far. One of the key achievements of the organisation is the development of a tool called the Labour Market Information System, which allows users to access labour demand and labour supply data.

Fireside chat at #EmployabilitySummit2025 featuring Oladeinde Olawoyin, Editor, Premium Times, Business Desk, and Ajibola Babalola, Employability Project Officer, representing Feyisayo Alayande, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).

L-R: Nneka Eneli, Director of Workforce Outsourcing; Lere Baale, CEO, Business School Netherlands (BSN); Lara Yeku, Divisional Director and Head of HR, Food Commercial Division at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc; Commodore A Mohammed, Senior Officer in the Nigerian Navy with expertise in Communications and IT; and Samira Bello, CEO of AADUN & Co.

1:42 pm: The business editor of PREMIUM TIMES, Oladeinde Olawoyin, sets in motion a fireside chat with Feyisayo Alayande, the executive secretary of Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.

1:35 pm: Lere Baale, CEO of Business School Netherlands, shares his perspectives on how his institution has adopted an action-led curriculum, aimed at enabling students to imbibe practical skills that will make them fit into jobs of their choice.

1:05 p.m.: A divisional director at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Lara Yeku, talks of an instance when interns were allowed to do a peer review of some projects done by senior staffers to know how the younger generation could do them differently.

Ongoing panel session at #EmployabilitySummit2025 featuring Nneka Eneli, Director of Workforce Outsourcing; Lere Baale, CEO, Business School Netherlands (BSN); Lara Yeku, Divisional Director and Head of HR, Food Commercial Division at Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc; and Commodore A Mohammed, Senior Officer in the Nigerian Navy with expertise in Communications and IT.

Moderated by Samira Bello, CEO of AADUN & Co., the panel is discussing how cross-generational workforces are shaping productivity and workplace dynamics.

12:50 pm: Mr Ikpoki remarks that leaders are not often the smartest people, but their key strength lies in harnessing the talents of their subordinates. His position on knowledge transfer in the workplace emphasises that management needs to listen to employees.

12:36 pm: The dialogue is at its second panel session titled, “Cross-Generational Workforce and Its Effects on Productivity.” It is headlined by Michael Ikpoki, CEO of Africa Context Advisory Partners.

12:24 pm: “If you must be an entrepreneur, learn the rudiments,” Mr Odusanya says at the close of the first plenary session. He draws the audience’s attention to how Mikano, which has built a reputation for itself in generator manufacturing, is now going back to the basics to learn how to make automobiles.

12:04 pm: Esiri Agbeyi, partner and family business leader at PwC, shares insights on how to achieve a smooth succession plan in family businesses. The discussion urges family business leaders to embrace flexibility and find a common ground with younger successors who intend to introduce disruptive but creative ideas that may challenge tradition and cultural nuances.

11:55 am: Dare Odusanya, general manager at British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, speaks on turning challenges in the agricultural supply chain into opportunities through innovation and value addition.

11:47 am: The first panel session commences, centring on how to identify gaps, while seeking opportunities in the fields of agriculture, the digital economy and artificial intelligence.

L–R: Ime Enang, Director of Business and Partnerships at Premium Times; Uyi Akpata, Immediate Past Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria; Ziad Maalouf, Managing Director of SBC; and Michael Ikpoki, CEO of Africa Content Advisory Partners.

11:33 am: Mr Maloof uses the 7-Up story on prioritising mentorship to illustrate the importance for organisations to focus more on scaling up talent than anything else. He narrates how a coffee boy at 7-Up ended up as the second-in-command in the organisation, thanks to guidance from a sales director.

Mr Ziad Maalouf, Managing Director of Seven Up Bottling Company (SBC), emphasises that scaling up businesses is what drives real change.

He explains that scale requires more than just ambition; it needs the right environment, strong mentorship, and individuals ready to rise.

Now speaking is Mr Ziad Maalouf, Managing Director of SBC (Seven Up Bottling Company). He is sharing The Seven Up Story, highlighting how the company is scaling talent, innovation and enterprise across Nigeria.

Mr Uyi Akpata, Immediate Past Country Senior Partner at PwC Nigeria, is now speaking during plenary session 1 at the ongoing #EmployabilitySummit2025

10:50 am: “We must promote civic engagement and let our youths have a sense of duty, a sense of responsibility to themselves, to their communities and to the nation and as well,” Mr Yusuf, NESG chairman, stated.

10:47 am: Niyi Yusuf, chair of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and the keynote speaker, charged stakeholders on the need to take a multi-stakeholder approach to solving unemployment issues in Nigeria. The academia, private sector and the government must find a point of collaboration in delivering value through human resource development, he said.

Mr Niyi Yusuf, Chairman, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, takes the stage as the keynote speaker at #EmployabilitySummit2025

“Our youths don’t lack talent — they just need access and the tools to succeed.”

10:34 am: Shitta Oluwagbemilola, representative of the Lagos State commissioner for works and infrastructure, Aramide Adeyoye, highlighted paid internships in the state, created by the government, which youths seeking opportunities can take advantage of.

Premium Times’ Business Editor, Oladeinde Olawoyin takes the stage to give the opening remarks at the ongoing #EmployabilitySummit2025 in Lagos

10:18 am: The summit kicks off with the host, Blessing Emmanuel-Macaulay, acknowledging the tenacity of young Nigerians below 30 in leveraging content creation as a tool for turning the digital economy into wealth.

10:00 am: The summit is set to start with a couple of speakers on ground. Ziad Maalouf, managing director, 7-Up Bottling Company; Uyi Akpata, former country senior partner of PwC Nigeria; and Niyi Yusuf, chairman of Nigerian Economic Summit Group, have already arrived.

9:45 am Uyi Akpata, former country manager for PwC Nigeria, arrives at the event.