A10-year-old pupil of Corona School, Gbagada, Lagos, Oluwademilade Odumuboni, has emerged global grand prize winner of the Toyota Dream Car Art Contest.

He won the coveted prize after beating 782,852 other contestants from 90 countries.

The contest is organised yearly by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Japan for pupils worldwide, challenging them to draw their dream cars with an inspirational idea.

Master Odumuboni’s waste converter drawing, with the concept of helping countries, especially African communities, in food production and ensuring clean environment, was adjudged the best globally.

He was on Saturday, September 2 honoured and presented with a prize money of $5,000, a trophy, and a certificate at a ceremony organised by Toyota Nigeria Limited (TNL) in Lagos on behalf of the TMC of Japan.

His school, Corona, was also given $10,000 prize money.

The prize money awarded to Demilade and the school is meant for education.

His Art teacher, Mr Ojeagbega Oserogho, received a laptop for helping the gifted boy to excel.

Managing Director, Toyota (Nigeria) Limited, Mr Kunle Ade-Ojo, said: “We are very excited and elated. Indeed, we are very proud of the feat that Demilade achieved by also placing Toyota (Nigeria) Limited in the forefront of distributors globally.”

He said the star boy’s unique idea and dream had placed him and Nigeria on the global map of one of the largest Global Art Contests for children.

“His unique and truly inspirational idea expressed in an equally creative drawing earned him a global grand prize in the contest beating over 782,852 contestants from 90 countries/regions,” he added.

Ade-Ojo said while the parent company, TMC of Japan initiated the contest in 2004, Toyota Nigeria keyed into it four years later as a corporate social responsibility initiative to help children express their imagination of a future car through drawing.

The TNL MD declared that his company felt fulfilled with its efforts of 15 years finally crowned.

“Apart from the shield and prize money from Toyota Motor Corporation that Demilade will be going home with, Toyota (Nigeria) Limited will also present a certificate and trophy to him,” he added.

The contest, he said, was also meant to drive the children to imagine a peaceful world full of smiles and to promote a friendly society.

“This way, Toyota is also cultivating a lifetime friendship with all these children while encouraging them to care for our planet and push their imagination beyond limits,” he stated. Ade-Ojo said annually, like other participant countries, three winners are picked in Nigeria from each age category: Category 1 (children not older than seven years); Category 2 (8-11 years); and Category 3 (12-15 years old), making nine winners.

The shortlisted nine national winners and their drawings are sent to Japan to compete with other drawings received from all over the world.

The Saturday ceremony was attended by parents of the star prize winner, family members, selected pupils from the school and their teachers led by the Head Teacher, Henrietta Eguagie.

Also in attendance were the three judges that shortlisted the drawing in Nigeria for the world competition.

Eguagie commended Oluwadamilade for his remarkable achievement that had brought glory to the school.

She also hailed Toyota for the initiative of inspiring young people to unleash their creative expression and artistic potential.

“As one of Nigeria’s leading educational institutions, we are dedicated to utilising this prize money in a manner that directly benefits the learning experiences and development of our students,” she said.

Specifically, Eguagie listed areas they plan to invest the money as Toyota Dream Car Endowment Fund, Oluwademilade grant for art, establishment of art gallery and exhibition, digital art studio, art and tech competition, among others.

The star boy expressed gratitude to the TNL and the TMC for the opportunity to express himself through art; as well as his school, art teachers, parents for their encouragement.

“I appreciate Toyota for this award and for believing in a little child like me. I’m also grateful for the big award shield; I’ll surely display it in my room and admire it every day when I wake up in the morning. This experience has taught me that hard work pays and that we should never give up,” he said.

Investment pledges amounting to nearly $14 billion U.S. dollars were committed during the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference in New Delhi convened by H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Heirs Holdings Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu C.F.R., urged the Indian private sector to seize the opportunity to invest in Nigeria, during the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference on Wednesday, September 6th, 2023, in New Delhi, India, jointly organised by the High Commission of Nigeria to India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC).

Elumelu has built pan African financial service businesses and now controls significant power and natural resources operations, all focused on value creation in Africa.

During a keynote address, Elumelu invited Indian private sector leaders to join him and other global investors in accessing the rapidly evolving Nigerian economy, home to 20% of Africans and one of the largest consumer populations globally: “This is the time to invest in Nigeria. I speak as a private sector investor in Nigeria, the companies in our Group’s investment portfolio demonstrate the opportunity. I believe you also can take advantage of our track record and success.”

At the Presidential roundtable, hosted by H.E. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Indian investors pledged investments of nearly $14 billion to Nigeria, following the Nigerian president’s commitment to create the enabling environment for foreign investments to thrive.

“Nigeria is a huge market; over 200 million people with the largest economy on the continent.
was in Delhi for the G20 Summit, both as an invitee of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and as co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African
economic integration, the private sector counterpart to the G20.

Most importantly, the population is not just over 200 million people; the demography of the population is exciting. We have a cohort of young people who are there to consume, and we also have people who are intelligent, energetic, hardworking, who provide the human capital that investors need to drive their businesses”

Tony Elumelu, was recently named co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African economic integration, alongside Sunil Mittal, Founder of Bharti Enterprises (Owners of Airtel). Established in 2010 within the G20, the B20 comprises corporate business enterprises and organisations and
serves as the official platform for dialogue between the G20 and the global business community.

About Heirs Holdings Heirs Holdings is a leading pan-African investment company. Its investment portfolio spans the power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate, and healthcare sectors,
operating in twenty-four countries worldwide.

Heirs Holdings is inspired by Africapitalism, the belief that the private sector is the key enabler
of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. Driven by this philosophy, Heirs Holdings invests for the long-term, bringing strategic capital, sector expertise, a track record of business success, and operational excellence to companies we invest in.