3,000 Dollars Each! Jerry Eze Foundation Awards N1 Billion Grants to 240 Nigerian Entrepreneurs
- The Jerry Eze Foundation awarded N1 billion in grants to 240 small business owners in Nigeria, giving each $3,000 to grow or start a business
- The selection process, managed by KPMG, screened over 16,000 applicants and focused on agriculture, manufacturing, and technology sectors
- Speakers like Oby Ezekwesili and Ibukun Awosika urged beneficiaries to aim for large-scale impact, collaboration, and long-term growth
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Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering energy, MSMEs, technology, banking and the economy.
The Jerry Eze Foundation has given out a total of N1 billion in grants to 240 small and micro business owners.
The awards were presented during a ceremony held at Transcorp Hilton Abuja. Each selected entrepreneur received $3,000 to either start a new business, grow an existing one, or improve their operations, Punch reported.
Source: UGC
According to the Foundation, the programme is part of a larger plan to encourage entrepreneurship and turn charitable efforts into real economic growth. The event attracted people from different sectors, including business, government, religion, and entertainment.
Before the final selection, the consulting firm KPMG was brought in to handle the process independently. Over 16,000 people applied for the grant, while 9,668 met all requirements. From this group, 240 entrepreneurs from across Nigeria were chosen.
The beneficiaries were selected mainly from three areas: agriculture and agribusiness, manufacturing, and technology/digital services.
Leaders urge beneficiaries to think big
In her speech, Oby Ezekwesili encouraged the recipients to aim for large-scale impact. She stressed that Africa needs businesses that grow with purpose and solve real problems, rather than staying small.
Ezekwesili said:
"The resources have been placed in your hands. The platform has been given. The acceptable direction is impact at scale. Africa is watching. Build accordingly.”
She challenged the entrepreneurs to use the opportunity wisely and focus on making a meaningful difference.
Also speaking, Ibukun Awosika described the initiative as a powerful step that connects potential with real progress.
Awosika said:
“Today, the Jerry Eze Foundation has done something profound; it has built a bridge between potential and progress, and each awardee must harness their potential to the fullest."
She advised the beneficiaries to keep learning from others and to work together, noting that collaboration can help transform small businesses into lasting institutions.
The founder, Jerry Eze, said the idea behind the Foundation came from lessons he learned growing up, especially from his mother, who believed in giving even when she had little.
Eze said:
“My late mum was the one who taught me that you can give everything. So everything I know about giving I learned from my mother. She could have nothing, and still find something to give,”
Source: Instagram
He encouraged the business owners to focus on creating value and helping their communities, expressing confidence that many of them would return with success stories in the near future.
EFCC details money laundering probe on Jerry Eze
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, disclosed that the agency once carried out a six-month investigation into Pastor Eze , over suspicions of money laundering.
The probe began after the commission received intelligence reports and petitions that drew attention to unusual inflows of foreign currencies into the cleric’s account.
Olukoyede stated that after hearing his explanation and reviewing the findings, the EFCC found no evidence of wrongdoing.
Source: Legit.ng
