KATSINA — Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda, has approved the distribution of start-up packs to 1,662 graduands of the Katsina Youth Craft Village (KYCV) at the institution’s second graduation ceremony scheduled for October 26.

The ceremony will take place at Muhammadu Dikko Stadium in Katsina, according to a statement issued by the KYCV management on Friday.

The number of beneficiaries represents a 156.79 per cent increase from the 648 youths who graduated during the programme’s first edition last year, an addition of 1,014 beneficiaries.
The statement said the initiative was part of Radda’s Building Your Future Agenda, aimed at promoting vocational skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and economic self-reliance among young people.
It added that the start-up packs would provide graduates in various trades with tools to establish and develop businesses across the state’s 34 local government areas, with the objectives of addressing unemployment and stimulating grassroots economic growth.
The KYCV management said each graduand was required to attend the ceremony with a parent or guardian, in line with the arrangement adopted during the first graduation.
The Coordinator of the institution, Engr. Kabir Abdullahi K-Soro, expressed appreciation to the governor, describing the expansion in beneficiaries as evidence of the administration’s commitment to developing a skilled and self-reliant generation.

