Aiyedatiwa to purchase ‘Dangote shares’ for 500 Ondo entrepreneurs 

*gives N80m grants to 20 business owners, unveils solar scheme for 1,000 firms

Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has announced plans to buy shares in Dangote Group for 500 young entrepreneurs in the state as part of efforts to promote investment and wealth creation among youths.

Aiyedatiwa disclosed this at the weekend during the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) Entrepreneurs Summit held at the International Centre for Culture and Events (The Dome), Akure.

The summit, themed, “The New Ondo: Positioning Entrepreneurs for Emerging Opportunities,” brought together entrepreneurs, business owners, investors, policymakers and other stakeholders.

The governor said the initiative was designed to expose young entrepreneurs to investment opportunities and give them a stake in one of Nigeria’s major business groups.

“I want my people to be beneficiary of the Dangote shares. On this note, I’m also supporting ONDEA to purchase for 500 youths aside the 20 persons that had gone through screening and emerged. 

“I don’t know the criteria you are going to use, but we are going to purchase for them some good amount of shares of Dangote Refinery so that they also can be part of owners of the biggest refinery in the world,” he said. 

He said the huge gesture was part of his administration’s plan to move Ondo from a civil service-driven economy to one driven by entrepreneurship, innovation and investment.

Aiyedatiwa also announced N80 million in grants for 20 entrepreneurs selected under the ONDEA My IDEA programme, with each beneficiary receiving N4 million.

According to him, the beneficiaries would also receive business support, mentorship and opportunities for international exposure.

The governor said his administration was building an entrepreneurial ecosystem that would connect ideas to skills, skills to businesses, businesses to finance and businesses to markets.

He said the government was particularly interested in sectors including agriculture and agro-processing, cocoa and other cash crops, tourism, the blue economy, oil and gas, solid minerals, technology, renewable energy, creative industries, manufacturing, logistics and export-oriented businesses.

“We must build enterprise not only for markets within Ondo State, but other parts of Nigeria and ultimately to the world,” he said.

Aiyedatiwa also unveiled the Lucky Light Initiative, a phased solar-energy programme targeted at providing reliable and affordable electricity to 1,000 small businesses across the state’s 18 local government areas.

He said the programme was an economic intervention rather than a household electrification scheme and would be implemented in phases.

“Lucky Light is an initiative designed specifically to support 1,000 small businesses with reliable, clean and affordable power.

“It is not a household electrification programme; it is an economic intervention designed to power businesses across all 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State,” he said.

The governor noted that the intervention was necessary because rising energy costs had increased the cost of doing business for small enterprises.

He urged the 20 beneficiaries of the My IDEA programme to use the funds to establish sustainable businesses, create jobs, pay taxes and support other entrepreneurs.

Earlier, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Investment, Summy Smart Francis, said ONDEA received more than 2,703 applications for the My IDEA programme.

Francis explained that the applicants passed through three levels of screening before 20 beneficiaries were selected.

“We received over 2,703 applications. We have three levels of screenings and they get to the final judges where we identify the 20 ideas that have the strategy to be able to add economic impact to the state,” he said.

He said each of the 20 beneficiaries received N4 million and would also be entitled to a business trip outside the country.

Francis urged young entrepreneurs to actively seek opportunities, saying successful entrepreneurship required clarity, discipline and ‘velocity,’ which he described as speed in the right direction.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele said entrepreneurs would play a central role in the Federal Government’s ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.

Represented by his Special Adviser, Toba Oyedele, the Minister called on all the entrepreneurs to take advantage of opportunities created by economic reforms, innovation and investment initiatives.

Also speaking, media entrepreneur and former Managing Director of TVC Entertainment, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, called for greater investment in the Southwest.

She, however, said the region had significant economic opportunities beyond Lagos and urged investors and policymakers to pay greater attention to other states in the region.