LOKOJA, Kogi State — The Kogi State Government has stepped up its youth empowerment agenda with the commencement of the Kogi Youth Entrepreneurship and Business Grant Programme, as Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo charged beneficiaries to transform the intervention into sustainable businesses capable of creating jobs and strengthening the state’s economy.
The initiative, implemented through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development under the leadership of the Commissioner, Hon. Aridaojo Monday Anyebe, is part of the Ododo Administration’s broader effort to equip young people with the skills, resources and opportunities required to become economically productive and self-reliant.
Speaking at the commencement of the programme in Lokoja, Governor Ododo, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folashade Ayoade Arike, said the intervention was designed to strengthen the productive capacity of young people and provide practical support for those seeking to establish or expand businesses.
The Governor stressed that the grant should be viewed not merely as financial assistance, but as seed capital with the potential to create lasting economic value.
Representing the Governor, the SSG urged beneficiaries to demonstrate responsibility and discipline in managing the funds, reminding them that the real measure of the programme’s success would be seen in the businesses they build and the opportunities they create.
“Please and please, make use of these grants. You were lucky to have somebody to say thank you and to help you. Please make good use of it,” she told the beneficiaries.
She encouraged the young entrepreneurs not to be discouraged by the size of their businesses or their present circumstances, stressing that many successful enterprises began from modest beginnings.
“Where you’re starting does not matter. It is where God is taking you to,” Ayoade said, urging the beneficiaries to remain focused, passionate and committed to their goals.
In a significant directive aimed at ensuring that the intervention produces measurable and lasting results, the SSG charged the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to establish effective monitoring and follow-up mechanisms for the beneficiaries.
She maintained that government’s responsibility should not end with the distribution of grants, but should extend to supporting beneficiaries as they navigate the challenges of building their businesses.
“Don’t just give these grants and close your eyes. Follow up on what they have achieved and encourage them,” she said.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Hon. Aridaojo Monday Anyebe, described the programme as a strategic investment in the human capital and economic future of Kogi State.
Anyebe explained that the intervention was conceived to go beyond the traditional model of distributing financial support, noting that young people must be equipped with the knowledge and capacity to manage businesses successfully.
According to him, young Kogites are already demonstrating considerable creativity and enterprise across sectors including agriculture, fashion, technology, food production and other emerging businesses. What many of them need, he said, is the right combination of knowledge, access to capital, mentorship and an enabling environment.
The Commissioner said participants would be exposed to critical areas of entrepreneurship, including business development, financial management, marketing, customer acquisition and responsible capital management.
He urged beneficiaries to approach the programme with seriousness and discipline, stressing that the grant should be invested in activities capable of generating sustainable income rather than being diverted to immediate consumption.
Anyebe also encouraged the beneficiaries to take advantage of mentorship and other opportunities provided under the programme, noting that access to capital without the capacity to manage it effectively could undermine the objectives of any empowerment intervention.
He challenged the young entrepreneurs to build businesses around solutions to genuine needs within their communities.
“A successful business does not merely sell a product; it solves a problem,” the Commissioner said.
He added that the ultimate objective of the initiative was to develop a new generation of Kogi entrepreneurs who would not only become financially independent but also employ others and contribute meaningfully to the state’s economic growth.
“An idea can change a life. A business can change a family. An entrepreneur can change a community. And a generation of empowered young entrepreneurs can change an entire state,” Anyebe said.
The commencement of the grant programme underscores the Ododo Administration’s growing emphasis on youth economic empowerment as a pathway to reducing unemployment, promoting enterprise development and expanding opportunities for young people across Kogi State.
For the beneficiaries, however, the grant represents more than government support. It is an opportunity to turn ideas into enterprises, enterprises into jobs, and individual ambition into economic value for families and communities.
The expectation now is that the beneficiaries will justify the confidence placed in them by government by deploying the resources responsibly, growing their businesses and becoming examples of what targeted youth investment can achieve.
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