• Home
  • FEATURES
  • US-based Venture launches N600bn  Scheme to Boost Imo’s Grassroots Business initiatives 
US-based Venture launches N600bn  Scheme to Boost Imo’s Grassroots Business initiatives 
June 11, 2026 13 Views

US-based Venture launches N600bn  Scheme to Boost Imo’s Grassroots Business initiatives 

A US-based venture studio, Calpe Labs, says it has launched a N600 billion scheme, which targets to boost entrepreneurship and capital access of 50 grassroots micro-businesses in Imo.
The Managing Director of Calpe Labs, Mr Mambu Sherman, disclosed this in an interview on Wednesday in Owerri.
The beneficiaries were selected under the state Government’s One Kindred One Business Initiative (OKOBI), a local initiative designed to leverage communal and family businesses in addressing unemployment.
The micro-businesses are mainly into agribusinesses and agro-processing, micro-manufacturing and production, artisanal and skilled services, trade, and commerce.
Sherman said the enterprise development initiative stemmed from the successful Imo Economic Summit hosted by the state Government in December 2025 to drive inclusive economic growth in the state.
He said Africa Business Affairs (AfriBA), a business development organisation, initiated the scheme.
He said AfriBA was partnering Calpe Labs, InnoPower Africa, and EvaTech Global, for the strategic implementation of the scheme to bring global technology and capital innovation to the state.
According to him, EvaTech Global integrates advances digital underwriting and business analytics.
“This technology will help local entrepreneurs in the state to strengthen capital readiness and seamlessly improve access to vital financing opportunities.
“One of the greatest challenges facing MSMEs is not a lack of ambition or opportunity, but fragmented support systems,” the director said.
Sherman also said that the partnership reflected a broader global shift, saying  modern entrepreneurs required connected support systems and alternative finance rather than isolated, uncoordinated programmes.
He said InnoPower Africa, a workforce and economic development organisation which focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and talent development, would help connect people, institutions, and opportunities to drive an inclusive economic growth.
Sherman said: “The initiative ultimately aims to empower over 1,000 businesses across the State.
“Partners project a massive N600 billion total economic impact and 20,000 new jobs.
“Furthermore, the programme is expected to generate approximately N250 billion in business revenue, directly transforming the economic landscape of rural communities within the state.”
He expressed optimism that the projected bold outcomes are achievable through a systematic removal of persistent barriers.
The platform provides coordinated growth capital and technology-enabled business infrastructure.
He said lessons gathered from the  pilot cohort would help refine the model, disclosing that partners plan to prepare for broader expansion across other markets throughout Africa.
Category FEATURES

About author

STARPOST
STARPOST 344 posts

View all posts by this author →

You might also like

FEATURES

Women As a Catalyst For Peace, Security And Development in Southeast Nigeria

  By Compassion Chidozie Ogbanu   In this article, I will be focusing on the fictional yet factual parameters of the “Unknown Gunmen (UGM),” a new nomenclature emanated from fear,

FEATURES

MONEY AND MUSCLE POLITICS IN IMO STATE—WHY A PARADIGM SHIFT IS LONG OVERDUE

For what it’s worth, political leadership, in its purest form, is about attaining political power and leveraging on it to influence decisions that bring about human development, and improvement in

FEATURES

ADAORA ONYECHERE: OUR CELEBRITY AMAZON, MEDIA TOAST, A DAUGHTER AFTER THE HEART OF HER PEOPLE, OUR PRIDE.

  BY IFEANYI NDUKWE   In a world where unique personalities are scarce, here comes a Celebrity Amazon and Media Toast, Adaora Onyechere, the quintessential Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on

FEATURES

Herdsmen Attacks And The Challenges Ahead 

BY CHINONSO JOHN ELUMEZIE Imo State, situated in southeastern Nigeria and home to a significant agrarian Igbo population is struggling with escalating insecurity caused by recurring Fulani herdsmen attacks.  These

FEATURES

Okigwe Zone Never Scuttled Owerri zone Chance in 2007 – Prof Nnamdi Obiaraeri 

Okigwe Zone Never Scuttled Owerri zone Chance in 2007 – Prof Nnamdi Obiaraeri FACTS ARE SACRED! PROF IWU HAS SINCE ACCURATELY NARRATED THE POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, LEGAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND JUDICIAL DECISIONS

FEATURES

Chief Dr & Lolo King Nwoha Family Congratulates Amaigbo Town Union New President General, Engr Herbert Egenti  … says he is fit and proper to lead ATU 

With a great Sense of Pride and Joy, I, Chief King Nwoha,  on behalf of my immediate family, Happily wish to congratulate and rejoice with Engr Herbert Egenti over his

0 Comments

No Comments Yet!

You can be first to comment this post!

Leave a Reply

Let's talk, Leave a Reply