The President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, has stated that the inability to access finance, inadequate power supply and the underdeveloped transport systems are major factors hindering millions of productive but unemployed and underemployed youths from starting small businesses.

He said the National Assembly was working on bills that would allow movable assets and invoices as collateral for loans to start businesses.

Saraki said this in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in Abuja on Monday.

He said, “Nigeria currently has a working age population of just over 108 million people. Out of this number, people under 35 years old are the worst affected by the high rate of unemployment and under-employment in our nation.

“To begin to put a dent in these detrimental statistics, we need to combine our strategies at the legislative and executive levels to create greater access to finance for young people. Right now, it is clear that no arm of government can go at this alone. On our end in the 8th Senate, we are working to create new forms of capital through the passage of bills like the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Bill that will allow young people to use their portable assets like cars and laptops as collateral for loans to start small businesses.

“We have also passed the Warehouse Receipts Bill to create a new type of transactional currency.”