The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs is set to partner with WEMA Bank Plc on various empowerment initiatives aimed at improving the lives of 500,000 women across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones. These initiatives, to be executed through the Ministry’s women cluster arrangement, will focus on skill acquisition, agriculture, the provision of grants and loans, and the allocation of part of WEMA Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to women-centric programs.
Barrister (Mrs.) Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, revealed this during a meeting with officials from WEMA Bank and its partners on Monday at her office. The meeting centered on planning the partnership, which aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, targeting poverty reduction, unemployment, and nationwide improvement in living standards.
The Minister emphasized that empowering women economically is essential in addressing societal issues such as poverty, early marriages, and domestic violence. With women and children comprising 70% of Nigeria’s population, skill acquisition, access to grants and loans, and the provision of business tools for women will lead to significant, positive outcomes, she explained.
She added that the Ministry is committed to fostering an enabling environment for women’s empowerment, especially at the grassroots level, through initiatives such as farming, food processing, and tailoring. By focusing on these areas, the nation could witness a decrease in school dropouts, sexual and gender-based violence, and early marriages, as empowered women will contribute to the economic growth and development of their families and the country as a whole.
Kennedy-Ohanenye urged WEMA Bank and other stakeholders to prioritize women’s empowerment in their programs, stating that it is key to securing a brighter future for Nigeria.
Earlier, WEMA Bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Moruf Oseni, represented by Executive Director, Retail and Digital, Mr. Tunde Mabawonku, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to partnering with the Ministry through its MOWA-SARA accelerator program. He assured that WEMA Bank would dedicate a portion of its CSR initiatives to women-focused projects aimed at enhancing the economic status of Nigerian women.
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