Reported by Ariajegbe Sylvia Esezobor
The founders and Senior Pastors of Dunamis International Gospel Centre, Dr Paul Enenche and his wife, Dr Becky Enenche, have empowered 100 Nigerians with training and resources to begin agribusiness ventures, in an initiative designed to promote self-reliance, entrepreneurship and agricultural productivity.
The beneficiaries, who constitute Batch A of the church’s Entrepreneurship Agribusiness Training Programme, graduated from the C.S.S. Farm and Skills Acquisition Centre along the Keffi–Abuja Road. The programme was fully sponsored by Enenche, his wife and the church, with each participant’s training costing approximately N500,000. Enenche disclosed this during the church’s Thanksgiving and Testimony Service on Sunday, stating that each beneficiary would receive at least one hectare of farmland to commence farming after completing the training.
“Each of them will have at least one hectare of farmland to start farming,” the cleric said. He also disclosed that the beneficiaries would receive monthly stipends to support them until their farm produce was ready for harvest. “We will also support them with monthly stipends until the time their produce is ready for harvest,” he said.
The initiative forms part of the church’s broader efforts to combine spiritual activities with programmes aimed at promoting youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and agricultural productivity. Enenche said the initiative was designed to provide participants with practical skills and sustainable means of livelihood, describing it as part of the church’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. The programme seeks to equip beneficiaries with practical agricultural skills and the resources needed to establish sustainable livelihoods.
The empowerment programme is the latest in a series of initiatives by the Dunamis International Gospel Centre aimed at addressing unemployment and economic hardship through skills acquisition and vocational training. In 2024, the church graduated about 451 persons from various skill programmes in its Batch A Skills Acquisition Training, covering areas including bag making, cooking, fashion design, web design, poultry farming, shoe making, solar installation and photography. Beneficiaries were equipped with tools including sewing machines and other equipment to enable them to become self-reliant entrepreneurs. At that event, Enenche emphasised that Christians should live their lives with the fear of God and represent Him practically in their daily endeavours. He also informed the gathering that the church was considering the establishment of a Vocational Skills Training Academy to provide an avenue for youths to acquire necessary skills in response to current realities.
The church has also undertaken other empowerment programmes in recent years. In December 2024, Enenche and his wife provided free welfare assistance to 5,000 people and 540 widows in the Federal Capital Territory. In 2023, Enenche empowered over 520 orphanages and less-privileged persons at the church’s headquarters in Abuja, with beneficiaries trained to acquire various skills and vocations. Dr Becky Enenche has separately led initiatives targeting widows, orphans and youths, including a programme in July 2026 in which she empowered 30 orphanages, widows and youths to mark her 55th birthday. In October 2022, she empowered widows and youths in the Federal Capital Territory, providing cash gifts to some persons to start businesses and donating a borehole to the Gosa community. The church has also supported the Federal Road Safety Corps with a patrol vehicle to enhance road safety in Abuja.
The agribusiness initiative reflects a growing emphasis on agriculture as a pathway to economic empowerment in Nigeria, where food inflation and unemployment have placed significant pressure on households. Agriculture remains the largest employer of labour in the country and a critical component of the government’s economic diversification agenda. The Federal Government has identified agribusiness as a priority sector for investment and job creation, and the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has emphasised the need for skills development aligned with labour market demands. The Enenche initiative complements those efforts by providing practical training, land and financial support to individuals seeking to establish agricultural enterprises.
The provision of farmland is a particularly significant component of the programme. Access to land remains one of the biggest barriers for aspiring farmers in Nigeria, where land tenure systems, the cost of acquisition and the absence of clear title documentation often prevent young people from entering agriculture. By providing one hectare of farmland to each beneficiary, the Enenche programme removes that barrier and gives participants a tangible asset on which to build their enterprises. The monthly stipends are equally important, addressing the cash-flow challenge that confronts new farmers who must wait months for their first harvest. By supporting beneficiaries until their produce is ready, the programme acknowledges that agricultural enterprises require patient capital and sustained support to become viable.
The graduation of Batch A suggests that the church intends to continue the programme, with subsequent batches expected to follow. The N500,000 cost per participant reflects a substantial investment in each beneficiary, covering training, resources and ongoing support. If the programme is replicated across multiple batches, it could represent a multi-billion-naira commitment to agricultural empowerment. The church has not disclosed the total number of beneficiaries it plans to support or the timeline for future batches, but the structure of the programme, with a designated Batch A, indicates that the initiative is designed to scale.
Reactions to the empowerment programme have been positive, with beneficiaries expressing gratitude for the training and resources. The programme aligns with a broader tradition of faith-based organisations in Nigeria stepping in to fill gaps in social welfare and economic empowerment, particularly in areas where government interventions have been insufficient or slow to reach. Churches, mosques and other religious institutions have increasingly become providers of vocational training, scholarships, healthcare and small business support, complementing the efforts of government and civil society. The Dunamis programme is among the most structured and generously funded of such initiatives, combining training, land, stipends and ongoing support in a single package.
For the 100 beneficiaries, the programme represents an opportunity to build livelihoods that can sustain them and their families beyond the immediate support they have received. For the Enenches and the Dunamis church, it is an expression of their stated commitment to practical Christianity and economic empowerment. For Nigeria, it is a reminder that addressing unemployment and food insecurity requires not only government policy but also the active participation of institutions and individuals with the resources and the will to invest in people. As Enenche put it, each beneficiary will have at least one hectare of farmland to start farming, and the church will support them until their produce is ready for harvest. The harvest, when it comes, will be measured not only in crops but in lives transformed.
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