YEEP 2026: 149 Younger Entrepreneurs Get N72m Grants, Equipment

Activate Success International and Flutterwave, as well as other partners, have awarded N72m million and equipment to a total of 149 younger entrepreneurs. Out of the total, 144 received 500,000 each, and five received sewing machines.

While the organisers, Activate Success International and Flutterwave, provided 25 grants of 500,000 and the five sewing machines, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, donated the same amount to 74 beneficiaries.

Also, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, donated N500,000 grants to 40 young entrepreneurs, and the Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, gave five grants of the same amount.

The award took place at the National Youth Entrepreneurship and Empowerment Programme (YEEP 2026) summit, organised by Activate Success International and Flutterwave, in collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Nestle Nigeria, among others, in Abuja on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, themed: “Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Courage and Impact,” the founder/CEO of Activate Success International Foundation, Love Idoko-Uloko, said Nigeria does not require a generation that waits for rescue but one prepared to build.

She said through the programme and broader interventions across the National Youth Service Corps orientation camps and national platforms, the foundation has reached millions of young Nigerians, equipping them with entrepreneurial knowledge, leadership capacity and practical tools to navigate an increasingly complex economic landscape.

“Beyond engagement, we have supported young entrepreneurs across agriculture, fashion, food business, creative industries, and others. This year, we gather under the theme “Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Courage and Impact,” which speaks directly to the defining demands of our time and the urgent expectations of our national future.

“11 years ago, we made a deliberate choice to invest in people. Today, we are witnessing the result of that decision. YEEP 2026, therefore, is not merely another edition of a programme; it is a continuation of a national commitment to ensuring that young Nigerians are equipped, empowered, and positioned to lead in a rapidly changing world,” she added.

In his remarks, Deputy Speaker Kalu reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s legal and institutional framework to enable enterprise to thrive.

He said the 10th National Assembly recognises that Nigeria’s most valuable resource is its young people, and that deliberate investment in youth capacity, skills, and enterprise is non-negotiable for the country’s future.

“Every generation is confronted with its defining test. For ours, that test is not the absence of talent, nor the scarcity of ideas, nor even the lack of ambition. Our challenge is to transform abundant youthful energy into structured opportunity and convert potential into sustainable productivity. It is the challenge of building systems that actively convert creativity into enterprise and enterprise into national prosperity.

“To the young Nigerians listening today, the possibilities before you are vast, but they require intention, discipline, and courage to realise. We are already witnessing what is possible across Nigeria, where young entrepreneurs are building companies that solve real problems in finance, logistics, agriculture, education, and the creative economy.

“As legislators, we remain committed to strengthening the legal and institutional environment that allows enterprise to flourish. As a nation, we must also begin to see entrepreneurship not as an alternative path for the few, but as a central pillar of national development and economic transformation.

“To the young Nigerians listening today, I want to remind you that your future is not something you stumble into; it is something you deliberately construct,” Kalu added.

On her part, the Minister of Women Affairs, Sulaiman-Ibrahim, said the ministry is deeply committed, under the Renewed Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, to expand access to grants and financial tools across all government areas of the federation, in a deliberate partnership with platforms like the summit.

“Through our partnership programme, the Relief from Social Impact Intervention 774, through that programme, there’s a lot that is going to happen. A lot has started…

“May I use this opportunity to commend the entire team of the Activate Success International Foundation for over a decade of unwavering commitment to this cause.

“I commend Flutaware for stepping forward to support bringing the financial infrastructure that turns ambition into enterprise and remittance into working capital,” she added.

Speaking on behalf of Flutterwave, the co-organiser of the event, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Olufunmilayo Olaniyi, expressed support for the foundation’s vision of empowering the youth.

“At Flutterwave, we believe the best investment goes beyond ideas and is shown in the people bold enough to act on them. And many of you here have already done the hardest part: you’ve started. You’ve written the proposal, pitched the idea, and chosen to build instead of wait.

“Our job is to make sure that when you’re ready to grow across cities, across borders, across markets, the infrastructure doesn’t slow you down. We’re bringing the full force of the Flutterwave engine into this programme.

“Let me be clear: economic empowerment isn’t charity. It’s access — access to the right tools, the right markets and the right systems that don’t limit your ambition”, she said.

The YEEP 2026 Summit featured the honouring of Deputy Speaker Kalu, NYSC, Nestle Nigeria; Apeh Iwodi, the CEO of Lines and Minds, Seyi Vodi, and recognised Crown Amos Gbadawole, the CEO of Crown Luxury properties, for their continuous support to the initiative.