By Bisi Bamishe
As we reflect on our 55th anniversary, we celebrate not only our legacy but also the generations whose dreams have become intertwined with ours. For Leadway, every milestone, policy, and premium is ultimately about people. In this edition of our 55 Stories of Legacy, we highlight another series of five stories on how Leadway embodies its values of integrity, service, professionalism, and excellence through the experiences of young Nigerians. Their growth is invaluable and vividly illustrates our story of impact.
These stories echo our belief in the Nigerian “I Can Do” Spirit, with the understanding that we rise by lifting others. These stories highlight how little drops of support can have a profound impact, giving rise to innovation, ingenuity, creativity, and influence that extends beyond borders, from supporting entrepreneurial acumen to creating initiatives that propel daunting achievements, to establishing platforms that enable emerging businesses to thrive, and providing the necessary nudge for exemplary success. These stories indeed nurture the next generation of possibilities. Join us!
1. Media Dash: Amplifying Youth Voices, Fueling Dreams
Every dream needs a platform, and for thousands of youth-led businesses, visibility is often the missing bridge between idea and impact. Through our Media Dash initiative, we opened and ceded our media platforms, billboards, radio, and digital spaces — to give youth-led brands the visibility they deserved. From prime billboard locations with high footfall and engagement, to digital footprints reaching thousands of audiences eager to buy products or engage in services, and to radio platforms that target the right audience on the go, we created the necessary “dash” and buffer for businesses to connect with their targets. For many, it was the first chance to be seen and heard nationwide, transforming small ideas into emerging enterprises.
2. Graduate Trainee Programme: Cultivating Tomorrow’s Professionals
Legacy is not just what we build, but who we build. Through the Leadway Graduate Trainee Programme, we’ve created a pipeline that transforms potential into professionalism. In the last 3 years alone, over 100 Nigerians have completed six months of immersive learning and mentorship, turning potential into capability and entering the workforce as confident professionals. Overall, we have trained over 100 graduates, primed and ready to make an impact and value.
3. Hersurred: Nurturing Her Voice, Her Vision, and Her Future
Empowerment is not just about creating opportunities; it is about building spaces where people, especially women, can truly thrive. This belief comes to life in Hersurred, our women-focused community designed to inspire growth, confidence, and connection. Hersurred reflects the same values that have guided Leadway’s 55-year journey: integrity, service, professionalism, and excellence, expressed through the lens of empathy and empowerment. Because beyond the policies and premiums, beyond the milestones and metrics, we know that legacy isn’t built in boardrooms alone it’s built in hearts, in lives touched, and in lasting impact. That is what Hersurred represents: nurturing her voice, her vision, and her future.
4. FUTA Entrepreneurship Development Centre: Investing in Innovation
At the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), a new building stands as proof that ideas deserve infrastructure. A space where creativity meets courage, where engineering students turn class projects into start-ups, and where ideas once scribbled in notebooks become prototypes ready for the market. For us, this center represents more than brick and mortar; it’s a commitment to excellence, to empowering young Nigerians with the tools to innovate, employ others, and shape the industries of tomorrow.
5. NYSC Financial Literacy Campaign: Empowering Early Financial Wisdom
At Leadway, we believe that financial empowerment begins with the proper knowledge. That’s why we’ve engaged over 2,000 corps members at the Lagos NYSC Camp through interactive sessions on savings, insurance, and long-term planning, using games, real-life scenarios, and expert mentorship to make finance relatable. For many participants, it’s their first real encounter with concepts like pensions and investment, but beyond learning, it’s about empowerment: giving young people the discipline to make sound financial decisions early, and the confidence to own their futures.
Legacy in Motion
Across these five stories, one truth rings true: youth empowerment is our investment in future-proof continuity. Each initiative builds a bridge between what we’ve achieved and what the next generation will create.
At 55, we celebrate not just our years, but the countless young lives we’ve touched, the entrepreneurs, scholars, and disruptors who now carry forward the same values that built Leadway: integrity, service, professionalism, and excellence, because in the end, our most significant return on investment isn’t in numbers or buildings, it’s in people.
