By IJEOMA UKAZU
Empowering women means promoting their sense of worth, boosting their status through scaling up their businesses, skill acquisition training or education.
According to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Goal five -Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls, Nestlé Nigeria is fulfilling this call by launching a Rural Women Project.
The project is targeted to Empower Rural Women in Nigeria to scale up their retail businesses through training, mentorship and grants in form of Nestlé products.
With the launch of this new project, Nestlé aims to make significant contributions to the well-being of Nigerians.
In the first phase of the project titled “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria”, the company will provide three times the monthly turnover of each of the 50 selected female retailers in form of Nestlé products.
L-R: Nestlé Nigeria Commercial Manager, Khaled Ramadan, Nestlé Nigeria North Central Sales Branch Manager Aina Bamidele, Nestlé Nigeria Abuja Regional Sales Manager Bukola Jide-Ekunseitan and Straplan Advisory Ltd Lead Trainer & Head of Partnerships Phranklin Audu.
Speaking at the launch of the project in Abuja at the weekend, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said: “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria” is aimed at making significant contributions to the well-being of the 50 retailers selected in this first phase, who already have a business relationship with Nestlé.
“We are confident that the support we will be provided through training, mentorship and grants will go a long way towards helping them improve their standards of living by increasing their sales outputs. We are excited to see the start of the implementation of this first phase of the project and look forward to the eventual scale up to reach more women across Nigeria.”
Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria is designed to help the selected retailers scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing business. Training will be provided by our implementation partners with a track record of helping rural dwellers access information and skills to improve their standards of living. In addition, the retailers will be linked to one on one mentors for additional guidance and consistent support to ensure their success.
Also speaking at the launch of the new project, Phranklin Audu, Lead Trainer & Head of Partnerships at Straplan Advisory Ltd, said, “For Nestle, the overarching goal is to ensure that these 50 selected participants are able to triple their income and ultimately improve their livelihoods . Selected from 3 area districts in Abuja- Kubwa, Nyanya and Gwagwalada, the rural traders will undergo a period of business coaching and mentoring to help them strengthen their business process in a bid to scale their businesses. We commend Nestlé for such a laudable project and hope the project is sustained and replicated across other states and regions of the country.
Some of the beneficiaries with Nestlé Nigeria Commercial Manager, Khaled Ramadan
During the event to flag off the project, one of the beneficiaries Mrs. Clementina Irandi said” I am beyond happy and I do not know how to express myself for being one of the 50 women chosen to participate in this empowerment by Nestlé. The free goods and training we received today will be particularly helpful in taking my business to the next level. I thank Nestlé for everything they have done for me and my family.”
Nestlé Nigeria’s expectation is that the business owners would leverage the improvement to better their living standards, including food, shelter, and the education of their children.
L-R: Nestlé Nigeria Marketing Services Manager Henry Esiaba, Nestlé Nigeria Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager Victoria Uwadoka and Nestlé Nigeria Commercial Manager, Khaled Ramadan