At the SouthEast Business Growth Conference 2025—hosted by the Ike‑Elechi Ogba Foundation in Abakaliki—Dr. Stephen Odoh, Director‑General of EBSMEDA, participated in the high‑impact panel discussion titled “Supporting Business Growth in the SouthEast: Opportunities and Access.”

The event brought together over 300 entrepreneurs, government officials, and industry stakeholders under the theme “Ideas. Ambition. Opportunity.” Within the panel, Dr. Odoh highlighted EBSMEDA’s strategies—covering access to finance, compliance support, skills development, and the establishment of enterprise clusters.

The conference also featured a pitch competition, with ₦2.5 million in grants awarded to five winners and additional support extended to one more finalist. Ebonyi’s Commissioner for Finance praised the initiative as a model of integrating heritage and enterprise.

Dr. Odoh emphasized the importance of embedding cultural identity into enterprise models, ensuring youth-led businesses are both economically sustainable and contextually rooted.