At least 3,000 women in Niger State on Thursday benefited from the N30 million empowerment grants by wife of the state Governor, Dr. Amina Sani Bello, to boost their small businesses.
During the flag off ceremony for the empowerment of women across the 25 local government areas of the state, Dr. Bello said beneficiaries are those involved in petty trading.
According to her: “We are giving them the grant to help in boosting their businesses.
“Ten women were picked from each ward across the state.
“We are looking for women who need money to start their businesses or women who are already selling bean cakes, rice cakes or little foodstuff either in the market or on the roadside to boost their businesses.
“We want to ensure that every woman that needs financial assistance for their businesses across the state benefit from this grant.”
Bello said the empowerment would be a continuous one, adding that accounts have also been opened for the women.
Accordingly, she said: “A lot of our women do not have the capacity for saving, that is why we had to open an account for the beneficiaries, to ensure that they save money and provide them with a platform for more intervention.”
One of the beneficiaries, Safiya Musa, while appreciating the gesture of the Governor’s wife, pledged that the money would be used judiciously.