Aiyedatiwa promises Dangote shares for 500 Ondo youths
By Boye Oyeyemi
Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has promised to purchase shares in the Dangote Group of Companies for 500 young entrepreneurs in the state as part of efforts to expose them to investment opportunities and promote wealth creation.
Aiyedatiwa said the initiative would enable young entrepreneurs to build wealth beyond their immediate businesses by providing them with access to investment opportunities in one of Nigeria’s major business groups.
The governor disclosed this on Saturday at the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency Entrepreneurs Summit, held at the International Centre for Culture and Events, The Dome, on Igbatoro Road, Akure. The summit, organised by the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency, was themed, “The New Ondo: Positioning Entrepreneurs for Emerging Opportunities.”
He also unveiled the Lucky Light Initiative, a phased programme designed to provide clean and affordable solar electricity to 1,000 small businesses across the state’s 18 local government areas. Aiyedatiwa said the intervention would commence this year and was conceived as an economic support programme rather than a household electrification scheme, noting that electricity had become a major component of the cost of production for small businesses.
In addition, the governor announced 20 beneficiaries of the ONDEA My IDEA screening and selection process, who will receive funding and business support packages, as well as opportunities for further development, exposure and mentorship.
Aiyedatiwa said his administration was repositioning the state’s economy by creating opportunities in agriculture and agro-processing, cocoa, tourism, the blue economy, oil and gas, solid minerals, technology, renewable energy, manufacturing, logistics and export-oriented businesses.
He added that the government would continue to support entrepreneurs through business registration, skills acquisition, training, equipment, finance and other forms of assistance, with the aim of helping residents move from job seekers to job creators.
In his keynote address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, represented by his Special Adviser, Toba Oyedele, said entrepreneurs would play a key role in the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Investment, Summy Smart Francis, urged young entrepreneurs to pursue opportunities with clarity, discipline and speed. Meanwhile, media entrepreneur Morayo Afolabi-Brown called for increased investment across the South-West beyond Lagos.
