Twenty young entrepreneurs in Ondo State have received financial grants, business support packages and structured mentorship under the state government’s ‘ONDEA My IDEA’ initiative. The beneficiaries were unveiled at the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) Summit held at the International Centre for Culture and Events, The Dome, in Akure.……
Twenty young entrepreneurs in Ondo State have received financial grants, business support packages and structured mentorship under the state government’s ‘ONDEA My IDEA’ initiative.
The beneficiaries were unveiled at the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) Summit held at the International Centre for Culture and Events, The Dome, in Akure.
The 20 entrepreneurs emerged from a competitive selection process designed to identify promising businesses with the potential to grow, create jobs and contribute to the state’s economic development.
Speaking at the event, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa said the government’s intervention was designed to promote self-reliance and sustainable enterprise development rather than dependency.
Aiyedatiwa urged the beneficiaries to use the opportunity to expand their businesses, create employment and contribute to the development of their communities.
He said the ultimate measure of government investment in entrepreneurship should be the number of lives positively affected by the success of supported businesses.
“The real return on government investment is not merely the success of one entrepreneur, but the number of lives such an entrepreneur can touch,” the governor said.
He also encouraged the entrepreneurs to pay their taxes, employ local workers and mentor younger business owners as their enterprises grow.
Through ONDEA, the state government said it plans to help entrepreneurs transition from informal businesses into structured, registered and investor-ready enterprises.
A major highlight of the summit was the launch of the ‘Lucky Light’ Initiative, a phased intervention designed to provide reliable, clean and affordable solar power to 1,000 small businesses across Ondo State’s 18 local government areas.
The initiative is aimed at reducing the impact of high energy costs on small businesses and improving their capacity to sustain production and operations.
Representing the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Toba Oyedele, said grassroots entrepreneurs would play a significant role in Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The Governor’s Special Adviser on Entrepreneurship, Dr. Summy Smart Francis, urged the newly empowered entrepreneurs to approach their businesses with discipline, speed and a commitment to growth.
Media personality Morayo Afolabi-Brown also highlighted the importance of strengthening entrepreneurship outside Lagos, saying the development of businesses in Ondo and other parts of the South-West could help broaden the region’s economic base.
The summit ended with a charge to the beneficiaries and other entrepreneurs in the state to contribute to Ondo’s transition from primarily exporting raw materials to producing and exporting processed, value-added goods.
