Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has unveiled a solar energy initiative designed to provide reliable and affordable electricity to 1,000 small businesses across the state’s 18 local government areas.

The scheme, known as the Lucky Light Initiative, was announced at the 2026 Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA) Entrepreneurs Summit in Akure on Saturday.

Aiyedatiwa said the programme would be implemented in phases, with businesses benefiting in batches as the government expands its coverage across the state.

He described the initiative as an economic intervention aimed at reducing one of the major operating costs faced by small businesses rather than a household electrification programme.

“Electricity is not a luxury for small businesses; it is part of their cost of production. Rising energy costs translate directly into higher production costs,” the governor said.

Speaking on the summit’s theme, “The New Ondo: Positioning Entrepreneurs for Emerging Opportunities,” Aiyedatiwa said entrepreneurship had moved beyond simply establishing businesses.

He urged entrepreneurs to identify problems, develop solutions, embrace technology, and build sustainable enterprises capable of creating jobs and competing beyond their immediate communities.

The governor said his administration was seeking to diversify Ondo State’s economy by creating an environment in which entrepreneurship, innovation, and private businesses could thrive.

He identified agriculture and agro-processing, cocoa and other cash crops, tourism, the blue economy, oil and gas, solid minerals, and technology as areas offering opportunities for investment and business development.

Renewable energy, creative industries, manufacturing, logistics, and export-oriented businesses were also highlighted as sectors with significant potential.

“Our objective is to move the state from producing raw materials to processing, packaging, branding, and exporting value-added products,” Aiyedatiwa said.

He said the state government was developing an entrepreneurial ecosystem that would connect ideas with skills, businesses with finance, and entrepreneurs with markets.

According to the governor, ONDEA is playing a central role in the strategy by helping entrepreneurs to formalise their businesses, acquire relevant skills, and gain access to training, equipment, and other forms of business support.

Shares for young entrepreneurs

Aiyedatiwa also announced plans to purchase shares in the Dangote Group of Companies for 500 young entrepreneurs in the state.

He said an additional 20 beneficiaries selected through the ONDEA My IDEA screening process would receive support as part of the state’s entrepreneurship programme.

The governor said the interventions were intended to encourage business ownership, investment, and wealth creation among young people.

Entrepreneurs key to Nigeria’s economic target

In a keynote address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said entrepreneurs would play an important role in Nigeria’s ambition to build a $1tn economy by 2030.

Oyedele, who was represented by his Special Adviser, Toba Oyedele, urged business owners to position themselves to take advantage of emerging opportunities arising from economic reforms, investment and innovation.

He said entrepreneurs would be expected to translate such opportunities into sustainable businesses, employment and wider economic growth.

Taiwo Oyedele is currently listed by the Federal Ministry of Finance as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Investment, Summy Francis, also urged young entrepreneurs to take a more deliberate approach to identifying and pursuing opportunities.

Francis said successful entrepreneurship required “clarity, discipline, and velocity," describing velocity as the ability to move quickly in the right direction.

He said the summit was designed to bring entrepreneurs together and connect them with opportunities that aligned with the state government’s economic development agenda.

The Lucky Light Initiative targets 1,000 businesses across all 18 local government areas and is intended to help participating enterprises reduce their dependence on more expensive sources of electricity. ONDEA describes the scheme as a statewide solar empowerment programme for micro, small, and medium-sized businesses.