Babajide Sanwo-Olu said on Friday during Nigeria’s 61st Independence Anniversary celebrations at the Agege Stadium that the Lagos State Government’s Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) had so far disbursed over N8 billion to 12,000 businesses.
Many of the 12,000 enterprises assisted were led by young people, according to Sanwo-Olu, who added that more than 7,000 adolescents were trained in entrepreneurship and company development.
Similarly, he added, the Lagos State Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) had made millions of Naira in funding available to help start-ups in the state.
According to him, the state administration was ramping up numerous youth-focused initiatives and fostering a business-friendly atmosphere.
“We are financing small, medium and large-scale businesses, supporting agriculture, investing in start-ups and technological innovation, building skills and capacity across various sectors, and creating the right environment for private enterprise to thrive.
”Lagos is also home to the largest education-technology programme in Africa, the Eko Digital Initiative, which will impart coding skills to one million Lagosians, with emphasis on primary and secondary school students.
“Furthermore, our city-wide fiber-optic rollout will soon become operational, unleashing high-speed Internet for the use of the public and private sectors.
”I am delighted to note that we have seen and are seeing encouraging results from across all the areas and sectors we are working in.
“We will not relent in our ambition to create ever-increasing opportunities for economic growth and prosperity, for all the people of Lagos state, including the youth,” Sanwo-Olu said.
The governor further urged residents to continue to support his administration as it works to realize the “Greater Lagos of our Dream,” a 21st-century economy in which all citizens have an equal chance to achieve their full potential.
