The Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development has said the state government will award N30m grants to 10 young entrepreneurs under the 2026 Amplifier Business Clinic.

This was disclosed in a statement made available to PUNCH Online on Saturday.

According to the statement, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Toyin Oke-Osanyintolu, said the programme was designed to ensure that young people in Lagos were properly engaged, empowered and equipped with the knowledge and support needed to contribute to the state’s economy.

Oke-Osanyintolu stated this during the Amplifier Business Clinic Pitch Day 2026, organised by the ministry in collaboration with Pelse Consulting.

She said young people could become economic assets when provided with the right knowledge, opportunities and support, adding that the programme was aimed at helping participants turn their skills and hobbies into sustainable businesses.

“Sometimes when people start businesses, they start it as a hobby. Maybe you’re good at sewing, you start it as a hobby. But here we teach them how to make their hobbies into a money-making venture where the business can contribute to the economic growth of the state,” she said.

She said the N30m grant represented an increase from the N20m awarded to eight beneficiaries in the previous edition.

Oke-Osanyintolu stressed that the financial support was only part of the programme, adding that beneficiaries would be attached to mentors who would guide them on how to deploy the funds to grow their businesses.

“We do not give them the grant and stop there. We attach them to mentors,” she said.

She added that participants who did not receive grants would also continue to have access to support from the ministry.

Managing Partner of Pelse Consulting, Boboye Adeniji Oluwafemi, said the programme was created to address the gap between having a skill or innovative idea and knowing how to turn it into a sustainable business.

“Having skills or coming up with an innovation is something, but running a business is a different ball game entirely,” he said.

Boboye said about 1,300 applications were received for the latest edition, with 568 applicants selected after online assessments, interviews and other screening processes.

He said 250 participants proceeded to the virtual training stage, after which further assessments, business cases and mock pitches were used to select participants for the physical training and final pitching exercise.

He said the participants were trained in financial modelling, cash-flow management, pricing, customer service, risk management, business planning, record keeping, branding, social media management, artificial intelligence and team leadership.

“We don’t teach skill; we teach business. What we are amplifying is the skill that you already have to help you scale it,” he said.

Boboye said the programme also linked participants with financial institutions and government agencies, adding that Zenith Bank was invited to support participants without business accounts, while the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund provided information on available financing opportunities.

He added that beneficiaries would receive compulsory mentorship from professionals in their respective sectors, while Pelse Consulting would conduct periodic monitoring and evaluation visits to assess their businesses and provide further support.

The businesses represented at the event included leather bags, snacks, suits, crochet, cosmetics, honey, printed T-shirts, footwear, school bags, corporate wear, palm oil, beads and dry fish.

Founder of Indawares, Kumoluyi Oyindamola Abigail, said the programme changed her approach to managing her leather-bag business.

She said she previously mixed personal funds with business money but learnt the importance of proper financial records, business planning and understanding her target customers.

Kumoluyi said she hoped to increase production from about 50 bags per month to between 100 and 150 bags and grow her revenue by about 30 per cent.

Founder of Fajosh Smart Enterprises, Fagbemi Joshua Oluwabori, said the programme had changed his understanding of entrepreneurship.

His business provides printing, photocopying, ID-card production, photography and computer-training services.

Fagbemi said he planned to expand the computer-training arm of his business to include Figma, Canva, CorelDRAW, AutoCAD and artificial intelligence applications.

Boboye said the ultimate objective of the collaboration was to help build businesses that could survive, grow and create employment.

He said Pelse Consulting’s vision was to support the emergence of SMEs that were “big, sustainable, profitable and scalable” and capable of creating real value.