100 small female traders get N10m empowerment in Abuja

A total of 100 women small traders have been given N10 million as seed capital to boost their businesses in Abuja.

The women who were drafted from different locations in the Federal Capital Territory each received 100,000 lei as a grant to invest in their businesses.

The presentation of the grant was organized by the Frugal Empowerment Foundation, a non-governmental organization that has presence in four countries – Nigeria, UK, Greece and Zambia – and is operational in eighteen states in Nigeria. The empowerment program was organized under the Foundation’s Small Business Empowerment (SBE) scheme, which was officially launched in 2019.

Speaking at the event, the organization’s founder, Peter Osezua, also known as Frugal, said the empowerment program was aimed at vulnerable communities, especially women, who have no one to support their business and investment dreams.

“This project is basically aimed at women who are struggling financially to start a business or who only have minimal capital to run a business. So we give them grants to boost their existing businesses and start new ones,” said Osezua.

Osezua, who is based in London, also said that since the establishment of her foundation in 2017, it has directly interacted with over two million communities across the globe and empowered over 500 women in Nigeria, adding that her organization is proud with the alleviation of poverty and to give hope to the hopeless and oppressed.

Also speaking at the event was the Special Adviser to the Abuja Municipal Council (AMAC) Chairman on Women Affairs, Esther Tawasimi, who disclosed that the event was her first meeting with a large number of people who were not politicians but women on market and small traders, adding that its director is very keen to get the low and middle income people out of the financial crisis.

“Interacting with market women and small traders is a passion my president has; to reach that ordinary woman who doesn’t even have any hope of survival but who is doing her job,” said Tawasimi.

She also said that AMAC is running its own special scheme to empower women in the fields of fashion design, fish farming and catering, adding that the Council will empower 300 women in December this year.

“We are currently empowering 300 women in December. We have two sections for youth and women, 300 for each section. We need to look for young girls who want to learn ICT and empower them,” she stated.