By: Paul Williams
Nigeria’s gas company, Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas, NLNG, has empowered 28 young entrepreneurs in its host communities in Rivers State with a total grant of N140 million each to help boost their businesses.
The entrepreneurs, mostly young persons in their twenties including five living with disability, got N5 million each from the total grant.
The empowerment initiative, which was part of the gas company’s Vocational (VIBES) scheme, had a total of 70 such entrepreneurs participate in a four-week selection process that ended on May 23, 2025 in Port Harcourt.
NLNG launched a Vocational, Innovation Business and Empowerment Scheme (VIBES) to drive business activities within its host communities.
VIBES was designed to ensure the growth and sustainability of small businesses owned and managed by beneficiaries previously under an earlier Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) initiative.
The scheme offers participants, who are existing business owners, help to upscale their businesses, as well as a broader support system that includes mentorship, networking, and additional advisory services.
NLNG’s general manager, external relations and sustainable development, Dr. Sophia Horsfall, at the launch of the VIBES Pitch-a-Thon on May 22, 2025, said “NLNG believes that entrepreneurship is not just about starting and running a business but about creating opportunities that uplift the communities to drive economic growth and spark positive social change”.
She said the remodelled initiative is a deliberate effort to engender entrepreneurial knowledge, as well as the networks needed to grow entrepreneurs in line with the company’s vision of improving lives sustainably.
Horsfall said: “NLNG believes that the VIBES initiative has the potential to create opportunities, and grow the minds of participating youths. VIBES is about seeing a gap and choosing to bridge it innovatively. It is about impact, creating jobs, and building sustainable prosperity from within.
“Our commitment to entrepreneurship is rooted in a clear and enduring purpose: to empower the youths in our host communities and unlock the boundless potential that lies within them.
“Today, 75 bold entrepreneurs are stepping forward to pitch their businesses and ideas. I’m proud to announce that 50 outstanding participants will each receive a grant of 5 million naira to fuel their business growth. By this, NLNG is placing confidence in your capacity to lead change among your peers, your communities and among youths in the larger society,” she said.
NLNG’s Manager, Community Relations and Sustainable Development, Yemi Adeyemi, at the close-out ceremony on May 23, 2025, reminded the gathering that the VIBES Pitch-a-Thon is not NLNG’s first venture into youth empowerment.
“Many of you may recall our Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) launched in 2004. Over 1,000 young men and women were equipped with skills, business training, and startup support. Today, many of them are thriving entrepreneurs – building businesses, employing others, and changing lives,” she noted.
Adeyemi praised the participating entrepreneurs for their resilience, vision, and the boldness to dream.
He assured them that “whether you receive a grant today or you will go get a loan with single digit interest to sustain your business, you should be aware that you are now part of a growing movement, one that is driving real change from the grassroots up.
“The knowledge, skills, and networks you have acquired through the VIBES training are your tools for building lasting legacies. Use them wisely. Use them boldly. Use them to create businesses that solve problems, employ others, and uplift communities,” he said.
