By Judith Oraeki-Anigbogu
No fewer than 500 women in Anambra have received business equipment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)/Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) Women Empowerment Programme to support the establishment and expansion of businesses.
The beneficiaries, comprising widows, wives of fallen heroes, indigent women and other vulnerable women, received deep chest freezers, maxi gas cookers with ovens, generating sets and industrial grinding machines, among other items.
The empowerment programme, held in Awka on Sept. 9, was part of the nationwide rollout of the SDGs/RHI Women Empowerment Programme across the five South-East states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo.
The programme was implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs in partnership with the Renewed Hope Initiative to promote economic inclusion and improve women’s livelihoods.
Speaking at the event, the First Lady of Nigeria and National Chairperson of RHI, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, said the intervention was designed to enable women to establish new businesses or strengthen existing ones.
Tinubu, whose message was delivered by the First Lady of Anambra, Mrs. Nonye Soludo, said the programme aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, particularly its focus on inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
She said empowering women economically would contribute to the attainment of SDG 5 on gender equality and empowerment of women and girls, as well as SDG 8 on decent work and economic growth.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, represented by a senior aide, said the beneficiaries were selected from vulnerable groups who had the willingness to work but lacked access to productive assets and opportunities.
She said the intervention went beyond the distribution of equipment, as the productive assets were expected to help beneficiaries build sustainable livelihoods and achieve greater economic independence.
Also speaking, the Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Mrs. Chiamaka Nnake, and the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Esther Onyekesi, commended the partnership between the Federal and Anambra governments.
They urged the beneficiaries to put the equipment to productive use and maximise the opportunities provided by the intervention.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Grace Ezekwe, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, expressed appreciation for the intervention, saying the equipment would help strengthen their businesses and improve their economic independence.
Judith Oraeki-Anigbogu is of the Ministry of Information and Value Reformation, Anambra State
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