Former presidential aide and investigative journalist, Chief Jackson Ude, has empowered 80 youths from Nkporo in the Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State with N80 million in business grants.
The beneficiaries, drawn from the eight sub-villages of Nkporo, received N1 million each to establish or expand businesses in agriculture, trading, food processing, fashion, technology, transportation and other areas.
The initiative is aimed at helping young people gain access to capital, build sustainable businesses and achieve greater economic independence.
Speaking on the programme, Oscar Chibueze, Ude’s Ambassador in Okwoko Nkporo, said the intervention was designed to provide young people with the financial support needed to turn viable business ideas into sustainable ventures.
“This intervention is about giving our young people the opportunity to become economically independent. The idea is not simply to give them money, but to provide capital that can help them start or expand businesses and create sustainable sources of income,” Chibueze said.
He explained that 10 beneficiaries were selected from each of the eight communities following a screening process designed to identify applicants with viable business proposals.
According to him, applicants were required to submit their proposals and defend them before a selection panel before the final beneficiaries were chosen.
“We wanted people who had viable ideas and could demonstrate how the money would be used. Applicants presented their business proposals and defended them before the selection panel before the beneficiaries were chosen,” he said.
Ude, who hails from Amurie Nkporo and holds the traditional title of Odozi Obodo 1&2 of Nkporo, served as Director of Strategy and Digital Communications under former President Goodluck Jonathan.
He is also the founder and publisher of PointBlank News.
The latest intervention is part of a series of empowerment and educational initiatives undertaken by Ude in Nkporo over the years.
In 2024, he provided N40 million in business grants to 40 youths from the community, with each beneficiary receiving N1 million.
In 2021, he awarded N8 million in scholarships to eight undergraduate students from Nkporo.
More recently, Ude empowered nine young women from the community with N4.5 million, giving each beneficiary N500,000 to support their confectionery businesses.
Chibueze said the latest programme reflected Ude’s continued commitment to youth development and economic empowerment in Nkporo.
“When a young person is able to establish or expand a business, that person is not only improving his or her own livelihood but can also create opportunities for others,” he said.
The organisers said community stakeholders would monitor the beneficiaries to ensure that the grants were deployed for the businesses for which they were awarded.
The intervention is expected to provide the beneficiaries with working capital to either establish new ventures or expand existing businesses, with the broader objective of strengthening livelihoods and encouraging entrepreneurship among young people in the community.
Ude, a 2019 recipient of the Peace Ambassador Award from the Centre for Peace Studies, Sri Lanka, has continued to support education, youth empowerment and community development initiatives in Nkporo.