Over 400,000 women across the country have been empowered with the sum of N4.2 billion by The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) as part of its unconditional Micro Grant Programme for empowering women in rural areas.
Speaking at the flag-off of its one-off unconditional Micro-grants Programme Tuesday in Bauchi, where 20,000 vulnerable women across the 20 Local Government Areas of the State, Chairman of the Foundation, Aliko Dangote, said the sum of N200 million was being disbursed to the women.
Dangote who was represented by the company’s Group Executive Director Government and Strategic Relations, Mansur Ahmed said so far, over four hundred thousand poor women have benefited from the programme in the country and that it was gratifying to note that majority of women who benefitted from the scheme have been able to grow the seed capital.
He said the unconditional micro grant is aimed at supporting the government effort’s in empowering poor families in the State, adding that the Foundation had earmarked N10 billion to be disbursed to vulnerable women across the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.
Dangote listed states that have also benefitted from the scheme to include: Lagos, Kano, Jigawa, Kogi, Adamawa, Borno, Yobe, Niger, Nasarawa, Sokoto, Katsina and Kwara state and that the next states to benefit from the programme are Osun, Edo, Ogun, Rivers, Anambra and Ebonyi state respectively.
“The Micro-grants programme is one component of the Economic Empowerment pillar of the Aliko Dangote Foundation. It provides disadvantaged and vulnerable women with a one-off, unconditional N10,000,00 cash transfer to boost their household income generation. This we believe will help reduce their vulnerability and meet their livelihood needs,” he added.
Bauchi State, Governor Senator Bala Abdulkadir Muhammad said he was very elated with ADF’s intervention across the country and especially in his state and expressed optimism that the intervention will support lives and livelihoods of women, children and families in Bauchi State.
“We are also using this opportunity to inform him that he should come and invest in Bauchi. We have the highest deposit of limestone in the country. We have the largest arable land and the largest forest. Bauchi is also very peaceful and secured,” he added.
The Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon Abubakar Suleiman, described the intervention as huge saying it would go a long way in supporting the poverty alleviation stride of the state government.
He said the state will continue to collaborate with the state in area of economic empowerment of womenfolk.
Commending the foundation, wife of the Governor, Mrs Aisha Bala Muhammed, said the intervention will help lift families from economic problems, even as she urged the women to invest it wisely.
One of the beneficiaries Amina Musa, 50, said she would start a micro business and use the profit to support her family.
