Sunday Ehigiator
Lagos-based youth empowerment platform, OmoeKOH, OmoeKOHhas injected over N200 million in grants, business support packages, and productivity tools into the small and medium enterprises (SME) ecosystem, as part of efforts to support young entrepreneurs, innovators, and creative minds across the state.
The intervention was unveiled at the maiden OmoeKOH Wealth and Impact Summit held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, National Theatre, Iganmu, Lagos, where more than 5,000 youths, traders, business owners and technology enthusiasts gathered to explore opportunities for enterprise development and wealth creation.
The initiative, convened by the Founder, Alhaji Imran Oladimeji Hamzat, comes barely three weeks after the launch of the movement, which was established to identify, celebrate and empower young Nigerians who have been building businesses and careers with limited support.
Speaking at the summit, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, represented by the state Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Hon. Akinyemi Bankole Ajigbotafe, commended the initiative for complementing government efforts aimed at job creation and entrepreneurship development.
Ajigbotafe said: “This summit is designed to provide a platform where ideas meet opportunity, mentorship, and capital. It aligns with our administration’s determination to create an enabling environment where enterprises can thrive.”
The major highlight of the event was a business pitch competition that attracted over 3,000 registrations. Twenty-five entrepreneurs were shortlisted to present their ideas before a panel, with three emerging winners.
David Ogunbanjo of Blanet Africa secured the top prize of ₦5 million, while Adeleke-Lawal of Ummiulkhayr Ummis Nature received ₦4 million, and Favour Adeleke of Qiqi Farms won ₦3 million. Other participants received ₦500,000 each to support the growth of their businesses.
Beyond cash grants, the organisers distributed laptops to graphic designers and software developers, mobile phones to content creators, and facilitated free registration of over 1,000 businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
Several partners, including Jobberman, Providus Bank and the Lagos State Health Management Agency, also provided career advisory services, banking support and health insurance enrolment opportunities for participants.
Speaking on the vision behind the initiative, Hamzat said OmoeKOH was created to address the challenges faced by many young Nigerians whose ideas and talents often go unnoticed.
“The initiative is designed to create opportunities for young Nigerians by supporting innovation, enterprise development, and the adoption of technology. OmoeKOH is a brand that we have just started less than a month ago. It is created to help the younger generation.
“We are trying to empower the younger generation. We understand that the younger generation is finding it difficult to find people to hear them out, or notice them and the ideas they have been silently building.
“We have tried to create a brand where we can recognise the young generations, the new creatives who have been working tirelessly, those who have been either employers or employees, to empower them either financially or with items that can support their business.”
Hamzat described OmoeKOH as “a youth-led platform empowering Lagos’ next generation of founders, creatives and traders through capital, tools and mentorship,” noting that sustained investment in young entrepreneurs remains critical to economic growth and job creation.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director-General of OmoeKOH, Henry Babatunde Ige, described the platform as a vehicle for creating opportunities through innovation and technology adoption.
He said the convener was “a silent philanthropist with an eye on business emperors of the future,” adding that the organisation would continue to identify and support promising entrepreneurs.
To ensure accountability and impact, OmoeKOH said it had compiled the contact details of all beneficiaries and would monitor the utilisation of grants and support packages.
The summit came at a time when Lagos State is intensifying support for micro, small and medium enterprises through the onboarding of 19 accelerators to facilitate the disbursement of a N10 billion MSME fund under the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF).
