By Anietie Usen
Ndifreke Akpekong is a cassava farmer in Eket, Akwa Ibom State. Four years ago in 2022, he was operating as a struggling farmer in a local community in the hinterland of his LGA.
The only trouble was that Akpekong was dealing with severe capital limitations that prevented him from expanding his cassava farming. This restriction kept profit margins thin and limited his scope of operations.
But his story changed after he received a grant of N500,000 from IBOM IGNITE, an NGO set up by Pastor Umo Eno, six years before he became the Governor.
With the half-a-million Naira grant, according to reports in THE GATHERING, Akpekong “successfully cultivated a 0.7-hectare cassava plantation and directly expanded his local economic footprint by employing over 15 persons both directly and indirectly within the community”.
Udofia Emmanuel, a metal fabricator and another beneficiary of IBOM IGNITE told his story to journalists covering the 2025 edition of the programme. “I was struggling to meet customer demands because I lacked the specialized gear. Winning the ₦250,000 grant completely changed my trajectory. I was able to acquire a brand-new specialized machine for my metal fabrication yard. Not only did it increase my capacity, but I have also been able to hire two additional staff to join my business.”
So are the stories of Ruth Bassey, founder of Enriched Bakery, Uyo; Tochukwu Lorenzo, fine artist and interior decorator; Uyo; Mary Ekpo, fashion and apparel designer, Eket; Blessing Udofot, fashion designer inEket; Pastor Church Mfon Monday, a manufacturer of cosmetics and household products in Etim Ekpo; Ikemesit Awak, a producer of cleaning products and liquid soap; to mention a few.
Before the grant of N500,000, Bassey, a chemical engineering graduate was trying to break into the bakery business. She was constrained by low-capacity of domestic baking tools, which restricted her market reach and daily output.
After the grant, she said she “upgraded her workflow by acquiring a commercial mixer and an additional industrial oven”. She also initiated her formal NAFDAC product registration and scaled up her operations to hire five permanent staff.
For Pastor Monday, another graduate of the University of Uyo, “the IBOM IGNITE grant in addition to my savings helped me to purchase a brand new 30KVA; four cylinder sound proof diesel generating plant, to expand my soap production factory from manual method to a fully automated soap factory…”
Tochukwu Lorenzo, a creative artist and decorator got a grant of N500,000. Before the grant, he was relying on sporadic, raw commissions without the machinery or high-grade supplies needed to tender for corporate interior design projects.
After the grant, Lorenzo secured commercial studio gears, allowing him to transition his artistic talent into a formal business structure capable of handling large-scale commercial decoration contracts across Uyo and Eket.
It is virtually the same story for more than 10,000 trainees who have successfully gone through the IBOM IGNITE programme since inception in 2017.
Over the years, beneficiaries of the IBOM IGNITE Conference have shared overwhelming testimonials, describing the programme as the critical turning point for their businesses.
Beyond the financial seed funding, past participants consistently highlight the mindset shift, practical financial prudence, and the ability to structurally design a business vision as the most valuable takeaways that helped them transition from ideas to surviving local enterprises.
IBOM IGNITE is one programme that reflects the deepest desires of Governor Eno to, in his words, ‘produce after its own kind’, a Biblical phrase that establishes the biological and spiritual law that every living thing reproduces offspring matching its exact species or nature.
As the NGO is taking stock of its last six years, all is set also for the take off of the IBOM IGNITE CONFERENCE 2026, scheduled for October 27 and 28, 2026, at Ibom Hall, IBB Avenue, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
Launched as a private, faith-based, youth-focused empowerment platform by Pastor Eno way back in 2017, six years before he became the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, the annual capacity building and entrepreneurial empowerment programme draws from the Eno example and background as a self-made entrepreneur, who built the Royalty Group and a fortune from a small 5-room hotel in Eket.
Since then, the IBOM IGNITE Conference has evolved from a local faith-based youth initiative into one of the most influential state-backed youth entrepreneurship and leadership movements in Nigeria’s South-South region.
The maiden conference took place in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, drawing around 2,000 young leaders and featuring prominent local business mentors. Over the years, the annual conference shifted to the capital city of Uyo.
Following Pastor Eno’s election as Governor, the platform seamlessly aligned with his Administration’s ARISE Agenda, cementing its role as a premier gateway for human capital development and startup financing in Akwa Ibom State.
This year’s stanza of the programme is featuring a blend of administrative leaders, spiritual mentors, and seasoned strategy consultants; including Pastor Eno himself, a highly successful entrepreneur who is bringing to the table practical business experience together with his hands-on background and track record in governance.
Other resource persons include Apostle Joshua Selman, the highly influential founder of Eternity Network International (ENI) and host of Koinonia. He is globally recognized for his teachings on principles of personal development, mindset shifts, and leadership strategy; Sir Charles Sebastian Udoh, a seasoned media, communications, and brand management executive who has served as a state commissioner, bringing public relations expertise to the panel and Ime Uwah, the Senior Special Assistant on Entrepreneurial Development to Governor Eno.
Hanson Johnson, a prominent digital ecosystem builder and country director behind local tech hubs, focusing heavily on fueling software development and youth digital empowerment across the South-South region; as well as
Dr. Maxwell Ubah, an elite corporate strategist, leadership expert, and CEO of Strategy House Limited, who specialises in restructuring businesses and training executives.
They will all focus on the theme: “REINVENT: Rethink, Reimagine, Redesign, Become”. The target is 1,500 young leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators, selected on merit through a public, digital application pipeline that operated on a strict, first-come-first-served basis.
Applicants were filtered into two distinct streams based on their intent: those registering strictly as general conference attendees to participate in leadership training, and those applying for the IBOM IGNITE Entrepreneurship and Innovation Grant.
For participants seeking a portion of the ₦50 Million funding pool, an additional layer of selection was implemented. Out of the registered pool, 470 applicants were selected to advance to a mandatory physical screening and live pitching assessment held at the IBOM-LED Complex on October 24, 2026. The final winners in both the Startup and Existing Business categories will be unveiled live during the wrap-up event of the IBOM IGNITE Conference on October 28, 2026.
According to Governor Eno the initiative maintains an over 60% success rate, verified by trackable testimonials of beneficiaries who used early seeds to build functional, surviving businesses.
Across its distinct annual cycles, the program has collectively trained, upskilled, and mentored over 10,000 Akwa Ibom youths in corporate leadership, digital innovation, agribusiness, and financial prudence.
By drawing down global industry leaders, tech CEOs, and national visionaries (like Apostle Joshua Selman and Obafemi Banigbe), it bridges the gap between grassroots local entrepreneurs and national economic pipelines.
Beyond the financial seed funding, past participants consistently highlight the mindset shift, practical financial prudence, and the ability to structurally design a business vision as the most valuable takeaways that helped them transition from ideas to surviving local enterprises.
Ikemesit Awak who emerged as the standout winner last year in the highly competitive Business Startup Category and walked away with a ₦2 Million startup capital grant after delivering a masterful pitch, said her business fortunes and trajectory are now irreversible.
“This grant helped me achieve one of my major business goals, which was to increase my business revenue and achieve consistent daily sales…Overall, the grant has been instrumental in supporting my business growth, improving my marketing efforts, and increasing my revenue”, Awak said.
Her journey is widely cited by the organizers as a prime example of female youth empowerment under the platform.
The very first batch of beneficiaries from the 2017 maiden conference held at the Rehoboth Arena in Eket, started micro-ventures with small seed grants and have successfully sustained their businesses for nearly a decade, serving as the foundational proof-of-concept that convinced the State government to adopt and expand the platform.
Beneficiaries frequently state that learning to build a “Vision Board” under local business mentors like Mrs. Ekaette Umoh, the DG of
Ibom-LED completely transformed how they handle day-to-day operations and scaling.
Past winners express deep gratitude for the capital injections. “In a challenging economic landscape,like ours, the grants provided me with the essential safety net that prevented my startup from folding in the first year”, Akpekong said.
“It was an eye-opener for me… I discovered that the mind of an entrepreneur must be a problem solving mind, risk taking, value adding and an investment conscious mindset… You have to move from talent to skill and intentional networking”, Ekpo said.
For Blessing Akpan, an Agricultural entrepreneur, her take home and key to building a thriving enterprise is: “Never underestimate the potential contributions of anyone, as they may hold the key to realizing your dreams” .
Governor Eno’s campaign promises regarding skill acquisition, capacity building, and entrepreneurial development were anchored heavily in his official governance blueprint, The ARISE Agenda. Drawing from his personal background as a successful businessman, his campaign focused on shifting the mindsets of Akwa Ibom youths from “job seekers” to “job creators”.
Governor Eno is a man who went from a small-scale entrepreneur to a conglomerate powerhouse. Now, he’s passing the torch. Through massive capacity-building programs, both at the governmental and Non-Governmental levels, Akwa Ibom is training the business giants of tomorrow.
Said Obafemi Banigbe, CEO of EMTS/9mobile, who was the Keynote Speaker last year: “When I look at this State, I see possibilities. To the young people here: you are not just leaders of tomorrow, you are leaders of today. Don’t dim your spark, ignite it”.
*Anietie Usen writes from Uyo