15/09/2025
GOV ENO CHARGES ENTREPRENEURS TO START SMALL, GROW BIG
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pst. Umo Eno PhD, has urged young entrepreneurs in the State to embrace discipline, passion, and resilience, stressing that the only thing one starts from the top - down is the grave, but every other thing begins small and grows up.
The Governor made the remarks while flagging off another batch of the Entrepreneurial Leadership Development Programme (ELDP) on Monday in Uyo.
Governor Eno emphasized that wealth creation and sustainable growth are not products of huge capital injections but of zeal, conviction, and the right entrepreneurial mindset.
Recounting his own journey from running a small hotel in Eket in 1996 to building one of the State’s leading hospitality brands before joining public service, Governor Eno told participants,"I came here today as one of you, someone who started a business in 1996, with five rooms in Eket.
“By the time I joined the public service, we had expanded beyond that, and we had moved to have an apartment, we have moved into Uyo, we have properties in Abuja, and then we have started working with IOCs. I came here today to say, that you can start small, but grow big.
"I came here to say that, the only thing you start from the top down digging, is the grave. But every other thing starts from down, and grow up.
“It's not the amount of money that is placed in your hands, it is the zeal, the conviction, the passion, the discipline, that we all have, to run what is given to us.
“It is not the amount of money that is placed in your hands, it is the discipline and passion you apply. Dangote started with a 500,000 naira loan from his uncle, Alhaji Dantata; today, he is among Africa’s four richest people. Your story can be the same.”
Speaking further, the Governor announced that under his administration, beneficiaries of the programme have not only received training but also seed grants of ₦500,000 to ₦750,000, stressing that proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place to ensure judicious use of the funds.
"No one will make it without your personal effort. All of you sitting in this room, and those that have gone before you, have been blessed to have a state, where today, you can not only be trained, but a seed money is handed to you. It is a blessing.
"It has not always been like this. And I encourage you today not to take this for granted, not to see it as an entitlement, but to see it as an act of God, that grace is available to you. And not to abuse the grace that God has made available to you.
"N500,000 can change the course of your life for good if only you are diligent about it. And that's why we bring you to this development centre, to be taught how to use money, what to do with money.
“A knife in the hand of a doctor, will heal. A knife in the hand of a madman, will kill.
"So when you are handed money, it depends on who you are, what you do with the money. In our state, we are very proud in the last two years, to say that we have judiciously used the money, available to us as a government."
In his opening remarks, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Entrepreneurial Development, Mr. Ime Uwah, disclosed that over 1,200 beneficiaries have been trained and funded since 2023, while 500 more are set to begin the 10-week training programme, bringing the total to 1,700.
"In the past two years, we've trained 1,200 beneficiaries through this EAP. Today, we are opening, and we have some of the members here. Today we are opening the fourth batch of that program to train 500 beneficiaries, which will make it 1,700 beneficiaries.
"Your Excellency, I want to really appreciate you for this program because you've not just instructed us to do the training, you've gone as far as also giving grants to all of these beneficiaries. Grants ranging from 500,000 to 750,000 for the 1,200 beneficiaries. And you did not stop there. You've enforced, you've made sure that we go on monitoring and evaluation, so that when these grants are being given, we are following up, we are making sure that it's used for the purpose it was meant for."
Mr. Uwah also revealed plans to inaugurate the Association of Akwa Ibom Entrepreneurs, a platform for beneficiaries to network, collaborate, and support the State’s economic transformation drive.
"Today, you are also going to inaugurate the Association of Akwa Ibom Entrepreneurs. The reason is these entrepreneurs are people that have been impacted by you and they've come together to say we need to assist His Excellency.
“From where government have brought us to, let us also do something by galvanizing the entrepreneurial community in the State to make sure that we monitor, we also look at the kind of things that have been done for our entrepreneurs and also promote it, project it, support ourselves, and make sure that this entrepreneurship drive of your administration goes further than where it is."
Also speaking, Managing Director of Akwa Ibom Investment Corporation, Pastor Imoabasi Jacob, and Rector of Dakkada Skills Acquisition Center (DASAC), Prof. Enoidem Usoroh, commended Governor Eno for reviving the e-library into a thriving entrepreneurial hub.
They described the programme as “a reform factory” where not only business skills but also values, discipline, and global business culture are instilled.
"You saw through the rubbles of this place once tagged abandoned. In your heart I can read that you are building an economy and what is an economy when there is no entrepreneurial class.
"One of the critical components of the emerging economy in our State is the rise of a class of entrepreneurs who would know how to turn capitals into goods, goods into profit. And who would work with our partners who are investors coming to look for skills.
"This is a total package of a reform set of Akwa Ibom citizens who can do business with global partners. Each of them is on a journey when they walk through that gate, their life and their world view changes.
"On the 29th March, you made a pronouncement during the graduation of the pioneer trainees at DASAC and today it is a reality. Thank you Ibom-LED for accepting and building with us."
Governor Eno reminded participants not to see the grants as mere handouts but as lifelines to build lasting enterprises.
He further noted that Akwa Ibom has remained prudent in its finances, funding projects without borrowing and prioritizing investments in people. He reaffirmed his vision to create a strong entrepreneurial class that will drive the State’s economy under the ARISE Agenda.
