The Kano State Government, under Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, has opened its Empowerment Portal for the Youth Empowerment Program in Entrepreneurship (YEPE), sometimes called AKY-YEPE after the Governor’s initials. Applications are open for training placements at various skills acquisition institutes across the state, with Batch A admitting 3,200 beneficiaries. This guide covers how the batch structure works, general eligibility, and a genuinely important distinction from a separate federal program active in Kano at the same time.

About the Program

YEPE forms part of Governor Yusuf’s broader plan, announced in January 2026, to train and empower 50,000 youths across Kano State during the year, aimed at promoting self-reliance and economic stability among young people. The Governor has described this as a strategic investment in building a skilled and productive population, directly tied to tackling poverty, unemployment, and youth restiveness across the state. The program builds on an earlier cohort of 2,260 graduates who completed training across eight entrepreneurship skills institutes and received empowerment packages at a Government House ceremony.

This earlier cohort’s completion, celebrated directly at Government House with the Governor himself in attendance, is a genuinely useful reference point: it shows the program has actually delivered results in the past, rather than existing purely as an announced intention. Applicants weighing whether to commit time to this program can reasonably point to that track record as evidence of the initiative’s substance.

How the Batches Work

• Batch A admits 3,200 beneficiaries specifically; this is the current cohort accepting applications.
• Batch B and Batch C applicants will be considered only after Batch A completes its training.
• Screening is conducted separately for each batch, so being unsuccessful or unselected for Batch A doesn’t necessarily rule you out of later batches.

A distinct program you might also encounter: YEIDEP

Kano State residents may also come across YEIDEP (Youth Economic Intervention and De-Radicalisation Program), a separate federal initiative coordinated by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development, that offers grants ranging from ₦50,000 to ₦500,000. Kano State has its own dedicated YEIDEP Steering Committee, established specifically to coordinate recruitment and selection of beneficiaries within the state under the Governor’s supervision. This is a different program from YEPE, federal rather than state-run, and grant-based rather than skills-training-based, so confirm which one you’re actually applying to before assuming either covers the same opportunity. Applying to the wrong one, or assuming eligibility rules from one apply to the other, is a genuinely easy mistake, given how similarly both are framed as Kano-based youth empowerment initiatives.

What YEPE Offers

• Practical, employable skills training delivered through dedicated entrepreneurship and skills acquisition institutes.
• A structured pathway toward either direct employment or starting your own small business.
• Empowerment packages provided to graduates upon successful completion of training, based on the pattern seen in earlier cohorts.

Eligibility (General Pattern)

• Must be a young resident of Kano State.
• Genuine interest in acquiring practical, employable skills through one of the participating training institutes.
• Willingness to complete the full training period before receiving any empowerment package.
• Accurate personal information provided during registration, matching your valid means of identification.
• Willingness to accept placement at whichever specific training institute matches your chosen skill area, as determined by the program’s structure.

How to Apply

1. Visit the official Kano State Empowerment Portal https://empowerment.kanostate.gov.ng/ directly; don’t use a third-party link claiming to be official.

2. Review the available training institutes and confirm which skill area matches your interests.

3. Register with accurate personal details and a valid means of identification.

4. Submit your application for Batch A, as this is the currently open cohort.

5. Watch for further communication regarding screening, since this is conducted separately for each batch.

No Payment Required

No indication that applying to YEPE requires payment; government empowerment and skills training programs of this kind are typically free to apply for. Do not pay any individual or agent claiming they can guarantee your selection into Batch A or any subsequent batch; treat any such request as fraudulent, and apply only through the official Kano State Empowerment Portal, no matter how convincing an alternative claim might appear.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Kano State YEPE currently open for applications?

Yes, for Batch A specifically, which is capped at 3,200 beneficiaries. Batch B and C will open once Batch A’s training concludes.

What’s the difference between YEPE and YEIDEP?

YEPE is a Kano State-run skills training program. YEIDEP is a separate federal grant program, coordinated in Kano by its own dedicated state steering committee; the two are genuinely distinct, despite both being youth-focused empowerment initiatives active in Kano State at the same time.

What happens if I’m not selected for Batch A?

You may still be eligible for Batch B or Batch C, which are screened separately once Batch A’s training is completed; being unsuccessful in one batch doesn’t automatically exclude you from later ones.

Is there a fee to apply?

No indication of any application fee has been found; treat any request for payment as fraudulent.

What is the broader goal behind this program?

Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf said the goal is to train and empower 50,000 youths across Kano State in 2026, as part of a broader strategy addressing poverty, unemployment, and youth restiveness in the state.

Has this kind of program actually produced graduates before?

Yes, an earlier cohort of 2,260 graduates completed training across eight entrepreneurship skills institutes and received empowerment packages directly from the Governor at a Government House ceremony, giving the current program a clear track record.