The First Lady of Nigeria, Sen. Oluremi Shade Tinubu today granted NGN 50 million grant to 1000 women in Kaduna State. TheMediaGood Newspaper can report that this is part of the NGN 1.8 billion grant set aside for 37,000 women petty traders across the 36 states of the federation and FCT, under the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme.
The First Lady who was represented at the event by the wife of the Deputy Senate President, Hajia Laila Jibrin Barau noted that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), especially the petty traders are the heart of our local economies and form the backbone of our local economies and the unsung heroes of the nation, and thus require the much-needed support.
Sen. Tinubu furthered: ‘Today, through the Renewed Hope Initiative Economic Empowerment Programme, we are providing 1,000 pre-selected women petty traders per state with a grant of N50,000 each to recapitalise and grow their businesses. The grants provided today is to assist our women petty traders in overcoming some of their business challenges, expand their businesses, create more jobs, and contribute more robustly to our economy.’
‘Economic empowerment remains a core objective of the Renewed Hope Initiative and we have consistently delivered on this promise for both women and youth across the six geopolitical zones to support the economic reforms of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. We recognise that empowering women economically is not just a moral imperative but a strategic one. When women thrive, their families thrive, and by extension, our communities and nation prosper.’
‘I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all our RHI state coordinators and first ladies of states, and everyone involved in making this programme a reality, particularly, their efforts in identifying the traders. This is really commendable.’
To the 1000 women petty traders who are the beneficiaries of this programme, ‘You are the heart of our local economies, the foundation of our communities, and the unsung heroes of our nation. You have shown incredible resilience in overcoming countless challenges to build your businesses’, the First Lady concluded.