Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has introduced a range of youth empowerment initiatives, including entrepreneurship training, business grants, equipment financing and increased bursaries, his aide on Entrepreneurship Development, Mrs Meflyn Anwana, has said.

Anwana, who is also Head of Monitoring and Evaluation at Ibom-LED, spoke after the Ibom Ignite Conference 2026, held at Ibom Hall, Uyo.

She said the state government’s interventions aligned with the common minimum policy framework for youth development by 2030, which emphasises education, relevant skills, decent work, sustainable businesses, participation in governance and inclusive development.

According to her, the Ibom-LED programme has trained 2,000 youths, providing them with start-up support, while thousands of entrepreneurs have received equipment financing to expand their businesses.

She also cited a ₦5 million Bank of Industry counterpart fund, which she said supports entrepreneurship, as well as investments in newly completed youth development centres and ₦31 billion approved for empowerment programmes across the state’s 31 local government areas.

Anwana said the initiatives were designed to promote job creation, business expansion and revenue generation, adding that the government was also investing in capacity building, mentorship and entrepreneurship development.

Ibom Ignite, which began in 2017, has grown into an annual platform for equipping young people with skills, business knowledge and networks. The ninth edition, themed “Reinvent, Rethink, Reimagine, Redesign and Become,” held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

At the conference, Eno announced that the state would sponsor 100 youths for agripreneurship training at CSS Global Integrated Farms in Nasarawa State.

At a fireside chat on Wednesday, he urged beneficiaries of the ₦50 million Ibom Ignite business grant to manage the funds prudently, stressing that business success required discipline and foresight, not merely access to capital.

The governor also proposed increasing bursaries for students in public tertiary institutions from ₦50,000 to ₦200,000, with students studying Medicine, Law and Engineering to receive ₦250,000. He said the proposed increase would take effect if he won the February 2027 governorship election.

The conference featured a keynote address by Apostle Joshua Selman, titled “The Courage to Become: Why Your Next Level Requires a New You.”

Prof. John Kennedy Opara, Chief Executive of CSS Global Integrated Farms, spoke on turning a business into an enterprise, while Dr Maxwell Ubah, Chief Executive of Strategy House Limited, urged participants to identify business opportunities in societal challenges, citing Singapore and Dubai as examples.

Chairman of the Central Planning Committee, Pastor Imobasi Jacob, described Ibom Ignite as a platform for ideas, ambition and possibilities.

Anwana urged participants to translate the knowledge, mentorship and networks gained at the conference into viable businesses, adding that the state’s interventions were structured to support those who demonstrated capacity, discipline and initiative.