Vecchia Romagna (VR) 1820, a top Italian brandy, has again partnered with the Lagos State Government to empower youth with useful vocational skills, marking the third consecutive year on the grassroots investment journey.
The brand sponsored the Project LOUD (Lagos of Our Dream) initiative, a Gov. Sanwo-Olu empowerment initiative targeted at equipping youth with vocational skills. At the latest graduation ceremony of the initiative, held on February 4, 2025, in Lagos, VR 1820 donated operational toolkits to select mixology graduates to kickstart their careers. In addition to donating the toolkits, it consistently provides resources to support the three-month classes in each session.
Given Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commitment to job creation for the 10 million Lagos youth population and the country’s unemployment challenge, the VR 1820 vocational skill development investment effort is strategic. The effort offers an opportunity for young people to build careers in mixology, fashion design, and shoe making amongst other vocations.
According to the Governor, “The challenge we see in Lagos is the challenge that each time we plan and want to execute that plan, the numbers we have to deal with, a lot of times, have outstripped that plan that we have. That is why you will see that in almost all of our endeavours, we are overstretched.”
Project LOUD is, therefore, one of the strategic initiatives aimed at addressing the state’s youth unemployment challenge. VR 1820’s partnership with the state is also a key driver of change, impact, and wider reach in the Governor’s efforts.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fidossi Wines & Spirits which is the distributor of VR 1820 in Nigeria, Fidelis Egbochie said, “VR 1820 is widely regarded as ‘master of emotions’ due to its reputation in connecting people at various high level, entertaining and social events. The brand is committed to the Lagos state government’s aspiration of equipping young people with valuable skills that will help raise their economic contributory levels.”
“We are delighted to be supporting the Project LOUD initiative. We believe in Governor Sanwo-Olu’s economic development agenda and we hope the beneficiaries of the initiative will go ahead to build a business out of the skills they have acquired, as well as the equipment they have received”, he added.
