The Benue Investment and Property Company (BIPC) has created 580 direct and 3,008 indirect jobs in under two years through its revitalised enterprises, including bread and water factories, a nail plant, and a fertiliser facility.
Speaking in Makurdi, BIPC CEO Dr. Asemakaha Amaabai said the initiatives stem from a risk analysis aimed at reducing Benue’s overdependence on the civil service. He highlighted Governor Hyacinth Alia’s focus on entrepreneurship and skills development as key to tackling unemployment.
The bread and water factories, he added, have helped stabilise prices and support small-scale traders — especially young women, widows, and schoolchildren.
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BIPC has also launched a motorcycle hire-purchase scheme, with several beneficiaries completing payment within nine months. Participants in state-backed business programs are encouraged to save with NOVUS Microfinance Bank, while civil servants can now access salary-deductible loans.
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are being trained in bread and water production, with plans to support them in starting small businesses.
Dr. Asemakaha urged Tiv, Idoma, and Igede youths to embrace vocational skills, stressing that white-collar jobs alone cannot meet the state’s employment needs.
