Agege Local Council and Lagos State Empowerment Trust Fund (LSETF) have equipped over 200 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with knowledge on accessing opportunities, finance and developing structure around their business.

This initiative which also equipped the participants with the requisite knowledge and tools required to access LSEFT loans of between N50,000 and N5 million with a 9 per cent interest rate culminated in a graduation and cheque presentation ceremony held at Agege Local Council Hall.

The Chairman, Agege Local Council, Abdul-Ganiyu Obasa, stated that the graduation ceremony was not just a completion of a programme, but the activation of a new layer of economic opportunities within Agege.

“Over 200 entrepreneurs have been prepared, not just trained, but positioned for growth, for structure, and for access to finance. This is the kind of intervention that moves people from survival to sustainability, from sustainability to scale, and that is the vision we are driving in Agege,” said the chairman.

According to him, since the inception of the administration, it has taken a deliberate and strategic approach to governance, an approach that places economic empowerment at the centre of development.

“We are building an Agege that works, an Agege that produces, an Agege that competes. From investments in critical infrastructure, to strengthening the local enterprise ecosystem, to supporting our artisans, traders, and creatives, we are laying the foundation for a resilient and sustainable local economy.

“Our fashion and creative hubs are not just projects, they are platforms for productivity. Our enterprise engagements are not just programmes, they are pipelines for growth,” he said.

While addressing graduating entrepreneurs, he charged them to rise to the responsibility of growth, build businesses that last, create value that multiplies, and become catalysts for economic transformation in their communities.

Executive Secretary of LSETF, Feyisayo Alayande, stated that the ceremony was not just a graduation, but a statement that when government works closely with communities, when partnerships are intentional, and when opportunities are made accessible, transformation becomes inevitable.

“Over the past four weeks, we have worked with over 200 nano, micro, small, and medium enterprises here in Agege. We have not just trained them, but also prepared these entrepreneurs for something bigger: access to opportunity, access to structure, and most importantly, access to finance,” said Alayande.

She further stated that the partnership between LSETF and the Agege Local Council is not just a collaboration, it is a blueprint that shows how local government can work hand in hand with state institutions to bring opportunity closer to the people.