By Davies Iheamnachor

PORT HARCOURT: Ogoni Entrepreneurship Summit, OES, has splashed N200,000,000 on 82 businesses in Ogoni ethnic nationality in Rivers State.

The grant is in a move to empower Micro, Small and Existing businesses and strengthen the local economy of the Ogoni people.

The grant handed the beneficiaries is a fallout of the Ogoni Entrepreneurship and Economic Summit of 2020, where the Chief Executive Officer of Geolink Global Limited and The President of KAGOTE, Chief Lesi Maol, promised to fund the process.

However, addressing the 82 grant awardees at Wiiyakara Community in Khana Local Government Areas, the Grant Sponsor, Maol, charged the beneficiaries to make good use of the fund, adding that his target is to restore the Ogoni spirit of love and giving.

Maol noted that the award ceremony was a dream come through, adding that his reasons for investing in the grant was to show love, which he said is the nature of a true nature.

He said: “This is a dream come through. The idea and mission is “Let Love Lead.” The only way to demonstrate love is to share what you have, which is the Ogoni spirit.

“By God’s grace, we will make this a yearly thing. The first 10 businesses that will invest this money well will be given equivalent of what they got to do more.”

He noted that the key factor of success in business is the mind and the person driving it and not capital, urging the receipts to develop character that will enable their businesses grow.

The Chairman of the Ceremony, Gen. Letam Wiwa, (rtd) expressed happiness that five years after the Ogoni summit, that businesses in the area have received empower to thrive.

He commended Maol for taking the first step to make many millionaires out of Ogoni, and hailed the organising committee for not derailing the vision.

The Chairman of OES Selection Committee, Sir (Dr) Leesi Gborogbosi, noted that over 500 individuals applied, but 82 businesses were chosen in the pilot phase.

He noted that categories that got the lift were existing businesses, Micro enterprises and Entrepreneurs.

He said the grant was for the development of Ogoni, charging the beneficiaries to be successful in their businesses.

He said: “The whole essence of the grant is the development of Ogoni and we are driving that development through individuals.

“Chief Maol has given us a lot of support for them to succeed. The committee also when through a lot to ensure the success of this process.”