The Abuja Investment Company Limited (AICL) has reinforced its commitment to youth entrepreneurship and innovation by awarding a total of N9.75 million to nine outstanding startups at the 2026 Abuja Young Entrepreneurs’ Hunt, with winners emerging from the information and communications technology (ICT), creative and agribusiness sectors.

The competition, organised by AICL in partnership with the Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA), rewarded three winners in each of the three sectors, with cash prizes of N1.5 million, N1 million and N750,000 respectively to support business expansion.

Speaking at the event in Abuja on Tuesday, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of AICL, Maureen Tamuno, said the initiative goes beyond cash awards by providing participants with mentorship, business visibility and access to investors that can help transform their enterprises.

According to her, every participant in the competition benefits from intensive training and mentorship throughout the selection process, equipping them with practical skills that can accelerate business growth irrespective of whether they emerge as winners.

“The level of training and mentorship they receive from professionals during the programme goes far beyond the competition itself. It gives them ideas on visibility, expansion and sustainability,” Tamuno said.

She noted that AICL maintains relationships with past participants through mentors and partner institutions that monitor their progress and provide continued guidance to ensure their businesses grow.

“We have mechanisms in place to follow up with them. That is why previous winners return every year to share their success stories and inspire new participants,” she added.

Tamuno said this year’s winners would also be given opportunities to pitch their businesses before investors and business leaders during the upcoming Abuja Business and Investment Expo 3.0, enabling them to secure partnerships, funding and wider market access.

She recalled that participants from previous editions attracted support from successful entrepreneurs, with some receiving investment, mentorship and employment opportunities after presenting their business ideas.

“We create the platform that allows investors and successful business people to connect with these young entrepreneurs even after the programme,” she said.

Tamuno called on private sector organisations, philanthropists and development partners to collaborate with AICL and the Abuja Enterprise Agency to expand support for youth-led businesses.

She stressed that while access to finance remains a major challenge, entrepreneurs also face structural constraints such as inadequate electricity and limited access to long-term financing.

According to her, recent investments in renewable energy are beginning to provide practical alternatives for small businesses.

“We now have renewable energy solutions that are helping businesses reduce dependence on the national grid. One of our markets operates entirely on green energy, and we encourage entrepreneurs to take advantage of these opportunities,” she said.

Tamuno urged Nigerians to believe in the country’s economic potential, arguing that sustainable national development requires collaboration between government, private investors and citizens.

“No country started instantly and everything started working. Countries grow and evolve. Nigeria is evolving, we are advancing.

“All we need to do is to believe in Nigeria, to believe in what we do. And as we evolve, we begin to create that awareness and support and, you know, apprenticeship opportunities for a lot of people that want to come into the space. What we do in Abuja Investment is create the space,” she added

She also highlighted the Abuja Business and Investment Expo 3.0, scheduled for August 5 to 7, as a platform that connects businesses with investors through business-to-business and business-to-government engagements.

Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Abuja Enterprise Agency, Chudi Ugwuada-Ezirigwe, described young entrepreneurs as central to Nigeria’s future, noting that the competition was designed to nurture innovative businesses capable of creating jobs and solving societal challenges.

He explained that this year’s edition focused on ICT, the creative economy and agribusiness because of their high growth potential, while promising that future editions would accommodate additional sectors.

“The journey of a million miles begins with one step. We started with these sectors, but we intend to expand as more innovative business ideas emerge,” he said.

Ugwuada-Ezirigwe said the competition was widely publicised through digital platforms to ensure equal access for interested young entrepreneurs.

He encouraged participants who did not win to remain resilient, describing entrepreneurship as a journey built on innovation, determination and calculated risk-taking.

Chairman of the judging panel and economist, Paul Alaje, said the competition assessed both the viability of individual businesses and their broader economic impact.

According to him, judges evaluated innovation, sustainability, financial viability, scalability and the ability of businesses to create employment and substitute imported products.

He argued that supporting young entrepreneurs is critical to addressing poverty, unemployment and inflation.

“Our government will formulate policies, but citizens must apply those policies to create value. These businesses will generate employment, reduce imports, promote exports and contribute to economic growth,” Alaje said.

He called on state governments across Nigeria to replicate the initiative, noting that empowering young people through entrepreneurship offers a sustainable response to unemployment and insecurity.

Among the standout innovations was Plastic Abdullahi Suleiman, winner of the creative category, whose business converts plastic waste and sand into durable interlocking paving stones without using cement.

Suleiman said the innovation was inspired by Nigeria’s growing plastic waste challenge and poor road infrastructure.

“We are turning plastic waste into stronger, more affordable interlocks. We believe this innovation can help solve both environmental pollution and road construction challenges,” he said.

Another winner, Ridwanllah Adeleke, Chief Executive Officer of Cyber Vigil and winner of the ICT category, said the recognition validated the company’s cybersecurity solutions designed to identify vulnerabilities in digital systems.

He urged government agencies to partner with indigenous cybersecurity firms to strengthen the protection of critical public infrastructure against data breaches.

Also speaking, Pamela Azeminor, first runner-up in the creative category, said the prize money would be invested in purchasing equipment for her fashion training academy.

She noted that access to finance remains one of the biggest obstacles facing young entrepreneurs, adding that the competition would enable her business to acquire machines capable of preparing fashion designers for global markets.

The Abuja Young Entrepreneurs’ Hunt forms part of AICL’s broader strategy to stimulate innovation, strengthen the startup ecosystem and position entrepreneurship as a catalyst for inclusive economic growth and job creation in the Federal Capital Territory.

US President Donald Trump has praised President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to tackle terrorism in Nigeria.

Bayo Onanuga, the presidential spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday that Trump’s commendation of Tinubu was contained in a letter dated July 6 and addressed to the Nigerian president.

Trump said he appreciated Tinubu’s “decisive leadership” and resolve to tackle the issues plaguing the nation, “especially the violence affecting Christian communities”.

“And it is a true honor to stand with you in the fight against terrorists and to make the Federal Republic of Nigeria stronger and more prosperous,” the letter reads.

“The United States-Nigeria relationship is crucial at a time where conflict has spread across West Africa and around the world.

“We both share a mutual goal of confronting terrorism in all its forms, and our historic US-Nigeria 2026 Defence Cooperation Roadmap has established a robust framework to accomplish this feat.

“I am proud to have deployed the United States Special Operations Forces—among the most elite military units anywhere in the world—to equip the brave men and women in the Armed Forces of Nigeria with the skills, tools and intelligence they need to protect your homeland and ensure the safety and security of citizens, particularly those of faith who have been under attack. I look forward to our continued discussions over the course of my Presidency.”

Cooperation between Nigeria and the US intensified last year after the Tinubu administration was accused by some American lawmakers of allowing “genocide against Christians” to fester. The Nigerian government denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, air strikes targeting Islamist terrorists in north-west Nigeria began in December and continued into this year.

In May, both countries announced a joint operation that killed Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the second-in-command of ISIS, in the Lake Chad area. Several of the ISIS leader’s lieutenants were also reportedly killed.

Dagvin Anderson, commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), said the US had pulled back many of its troops in Nigeria following the operation’s success but noted that Washington would retain its intelligence partnership with Abuja.

Last week, Frank Garcia, US assistant secretary of state for Africa, visited Nigeria.

Garcia held meetings with senior government officials and pledged to strengthen security ties and cooperation between Abuja and Washington and other areas of collaboration.

The two countries have since formed a joint working group and continue to collaborate in areas of mutual interest.

Shoreline Group today announced that African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$200 million facility in favour of Shoreline Power Company Limited and co-borrowers including Arkad S.p.A., Shoreline’s majority-owned engineering and construction platform.
Approved in June 2026, the facility was arranged and provided by Afreximbank as sole mandated lead arranger and lender. It provides bonding and working-capital capacity for Arkad’s delivery of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz project and supports Shoreline and its affiliates in developing further pipeline and infrastructure
projects in Nigeria and other permitted jurisdictions.
“This is a defining transaction for Shoreline and Arkad. We built Arkad as an African- sponsored engineering platform capable of competing at the highest level, and it is now delivering against a billion-dollar energy contract. Afreximbank’s US$200 million commitment gives the platform the financial strength to match its engineering capability and pursue further major infrastructure mandates. It demonstrates that African enterprises can assemble the capital, capability and partnerships required to compete for infrastructure at international scale.”
Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a Arkad holds 44 per cent of the approximately US$1 billion EPCCS-1 contract awarded by Groupement
Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR) to an unincorporated consortium led by Egypt’s Petrojet, which holds 56 percent. EPCCS-1 covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up for the Phase 2a central processing facility and related infrastructure at the Hassi Bir Rekaiz field in Algeria’s Berkine
Basin.
GHBR is the joint operating entity for the licence, held by Sonatrach with 51 per cent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 49 per cent. The project includes a new crude oil processing facility with capacity of 31,500 barrels per day, facilities for associated gas and produced-water treatment, approximately 217 kilometres
of pipelines and the brownfield modifications required to integrate existing Phase 1 infrastructure.
The facilities are designed to support later expansion to 63,000 barrels per day under Phase 2b.
“This financing addresses the instruments that determine whether an EPC contractor can execute at scale: performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital through the project cycle. Hassi Bir Rekaiz is a demanding scope, combining a new central processing facility, associated treatment systems, pipelines and brownfield integration. With Petrojet, and with the support of Shoreline and Afreximbank, Arkad is focused on disciplined delivery against the project’s safety, quality and schedule requirements.”
The transaction was structured under Afreximbank’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Initiative, which supports African engineering and construction firms with the financial instruments required to compete for and execute large infrastructure contracts. Afreximbank also supported the Arkad-Petrojet partnership through its EPC twinning work at the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers
in 2025.
According to Afreximbank, the transaction is its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor undertaking a major infrastructure project in North Africa. For Shoreline, it demonstrates a practical model for combining African ownership and capital with established international engineering andindustrial capability.