The Minster of Federal Ministry of Women Affairs, Barrister Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye has met with WEMA Bank officials to discuss modalities for the collaboration on the empowerment of 500,000 women across six geo-political zones of the country.
The Minister, in a statement issued by the Head, Information and Public Relations, Mrs.Grace Njoku, said the partnership aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda which seeks to tackle poverty, unemployment, and improve living standards nationwide.
The empowerment initiative, which will be implemented through the Ministry’s women cluster arrangement, will include skill acquisition, agriculture, grant and loan provision, and the allocation of a portion of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility schemes to women-focused programmes.
She observed that women’s economic empowerment is crucial to closing gaps that perpetuate poverty, early marriages, wife battering, among others .
“With women and children comprising 70% of Nigeria’s population, empowering the gender through skill acquisition, access to grants and loans, as well as business tools will yield significant positive results,” the Minister said.
Kennedy-Ohanenye, expressed the Ministry’s committed to creating an enabling environment for women’s empowerment, particularly at the grassroots level through farming, food processing ventures, and tailoring, among others
“She explained further: “By doing so, Nigeria can expect a reduction in out-of-school dropouts, sexual and gender-based violence, as well as early marriages, allowing women to earn, make profits and also contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of not only their families, but the nation at large.”
Kennedy-Ohanenye, therefore, called on WEMA Bank and other well-meaning Nigerians to prioritize women’s empowerment in their programmes in order to secure a brighter future for the country
Earlier, the Managing Director, WEMA Bank Plc,
Mr. Moruf Oseni stated that they were in the Ministry, alongside other partners, to discuss modalities for a robust partnership on women empowerment through the MOWA-SARA accelerator program
Represented by the Executive Director, Retail and Digital, Mr Tunde Mabawonku, he expressed the bank willingness to partner the Ministry through its cluster arrangement for women empowerment across the States and assured that a portion of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) will be on women-focused initiatives in order to enhance the economic status of Nigerian women.
