.
By Juliet Ebirim
Lagos State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture hosted a youth conference, EkoYouth, with EbonyLife Place, to highlight the leadership qualities and entrepreneurial achievements of young people in Lagos.
Organised in partnership with The Future Project, EkoYouth featured panel discussions on leadership and business, a ‘pitchathon’ for young entrepreneurs to win seed funding for their fledgling enterprises, and an awards ceremony for achievement in business and the arts.
The event kicked off with a panel discussion by experienced panelists including Bada Akintunde-Johnson, Viacom International Media Networks Africa; Ugo Nwosu, co-founder of GETJAMA Limited; Otosirieze Obi-Young, editor-in-chief of Open Country Magazine; Sandra Amachree Senior Media, Brand PR & Sponsorships Manager, Nigerian Breweries Plc; Dafe Oboro, filmmaker, producer, portrait and documentary photographer; and Fuad Lawal, content honcho and growth lead at Eden Life Inc.
Over 57 would-be business moguls applied to be part of the EkoYouth Pitchathon. Favour Adeleke of Qiqi Farms emerged winner out of the four selected to pitch their ideas at the event. He received N500,000, courtesy of Access Bank Plc.
Born in Lagos, twenty-year-old Favour Adeleke from Oyo State who comes from a generation of farmers believes in changing the narrative, while ensuring that Nigerians get access to healthy food. “I’m happy that we got this amazing grant from EkoYouth. It will be used to get equipment to help in processing our farm products faster, so as to meet the demands of our market base across six states of the country.
We believe that initiatives like this will go a long way in helping young people. Qiqi Farms started with a loan of Ten thousand naira from my mum and we’ve generated a revenue of over Six million naira. Agriculture has limitless potentials to create job opportunities.
The value chain is massive. The future of this country lies in the hands of the youths and there’s so much we can achieve.” he enthused.
The Hon. Commissioner, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, believes that nurturing young people and their ideas is critical to the future of Lagos. “Lagos State benefits significantly from the innovation and enterprise of youth across a range of industries, but particularly in the technology and creative sectors.
Young people bring fresh ideas and create new ways of solving old problems, and we will continue to look for ways to encourage and support them. EkoYouth is just one of many Lagos State initiatives to identify and empower talented leaders and entrepreneurs of the future,” she said.
EbonyLife Place CEO Mo Abudu said, “EbonyLife has thrived over the years through the drive and hardwork of so many talented young people, so we are delighted to be a part of any programme that highlights their ideas and achievements.”
The post Favour Adeleke emerges winner, as Lagos, EbonyLife host EkoYouth appeared first on Vanguard News.
Comments