Over N1 billion has been raised in various rural businesses, across the six geo-political zones pooled by over 200,000 women in the country, the Nigeria for Women Project, the brainchild of the Federal Government, has said.
The money was pooled by 200,000 women in Abia, Kebbi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba states, through a sustained livelihood programme.
The National Coordinator of the NWP, Ruth Peter Mshelia, stated these in Abuja on Tuesday during the opening ceremony of a media workshop on women empowerment.
According to her, the project, supported by the government and the World Bank, was aimed towards enhancing the socio-economic status of women in Nigeria.
She said that while they have been able to build and convert their social capital to such a huge resource base, the programme was designed to provide grants of N60,000 maximum to individuals in the Women Affinity Group.
Mshelia said being a member of WAG was not a guarantee to the proposed grant for which North-Central beneficiaries would begin to recover disbursement next week.
She added that only a successful business plan, would attract grant approval and disbursement.
She maintained that one of the strategies adopted by the Nigeria for Women Initiative to eliminate elite capture was, consistency in the programme which would reflect in the attendance of participants.
In her presentation which provided insight on the women affinity group, Fatima Iliya Maji, and Institution Capacity Building, pointed out that 237,392 women groups which raised the N1,135,306,305 had loaned N657,054,663 from which, N312,116,792 had been paid.
The World Bank Senior Special Development Specialist and Task Team Leader, Dr Michael Ilesanmi, who addressed the workshop online said the whole concept of investing in women’s economic empowerment, is one way to address empowerment across the board.
“In Nigeria, the government in its wisdom decided to invest as part of this whole human capital agenda in women’s economic empowerment.
“When we invest in women, you transform households for the better and by extension communities, and the country at large,” he said.
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