Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has disclosed plans to purchase shares in the Dangote Group of Companies for 500 young entrepreneurs in the state. This initiative aims to promote investment, wealth creation, and financial inclusion among youths. The governor made this announcement at the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) Entrepreneurs Summit held in Akure, the state capital.
The initiative is designed to expose young entrepreneurs to investment opportunities beyond running businesses and encourage them to build long-term wealth. Aiyedatiwa emphasized that owning shares in a major Nigerian company would allow the young entrepreneurs to participate in the wider economy while developing an understanding of investment, savings, and asset ownership.
The governor's administration is committed to creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem that connects ideas with skills, businesses with finance, and entrepreneurs with markets. This intervention is part of a broader effort to ensure that support for young people goes beyond grants and business equipment to include opportunities capable of building financial independence and creating wealth over time.
Aiyedatiwa urged the prospective beneficiaries to see the investment as an opportunity that should be preserved and nurtured rather than treated as an immediate financial benefit. He also unveiled the Lucky Light Initiative, which aims to provide reliable, clean, and affordable solar electricity to 1,000 small businesses across the state's 18 local government areas.
The Lucky Light Initiative is set to commence this year, with businesses benefiting in batches. Aiyedatiwa stressed that electricity remains a major component of the cost of production for small businesses. Additionally, the governor announced grants and business support packages for 20 young entrepreneurs whose ideas emerged from the ONDEA My IDEA screening and selection process.
The governor's administration is repositioning the state's economy by focusing on various sectors, including agriculture, agro-processing, cocoa, tourism, and renewable energy. Aiyedatiwa aims to move Ondo from merely producing raw materials to processing, packaging, branding, and exporting value-added products. He emphasized the importance of entrepreneurs in building a sustainable economy.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, highlighted the central role of entrepreneurs in the Federal Government's ambition of building a $1 trillion economy by 2030. The minister urged entrepreneurs in the state to position themselves to take advantage of emerging opportunities created by economic reforms, innovation, and investment.
Key points
- Governor Aiyedatiwa's administration is committed to creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem that supports young people in building financial independence and creating wealth over time.
- The Lucky Light Initiative aims to provide reliable, clean, and affordable solar electricity to 1,000 small businesses across the state's 18 local government areas.
- The governor's administration is repositioning the state's economy by focusing on various sectors, including agriculture, agro-processing, cocoa, tourism, and renewable energy.
