REPORTER: PEACE AGBO
Two hundred market women in Abia state have benefitted from a first phase of N20 million women empowerment programme aimed at building efficient and growth-oriented businesses in the state.
The initiative tagged “Ahiaoma Market Women Empowerment Programme” is being implemented by the Safe Tent Care Initiative (STCI), the pet project of the wife of the Abia state Governor Mrs Priscilla Otti.
Speaking during the launch of the initiative tagged “Ahiaoma Market Women Empowerment” organised at the Micheal Okpara Auditorium Umuahia, Mrs Otti described the programme as a structured and sustainable approach to empowerment rather than a one-off intervention.
She explained that investing in women remained a soci economic strategy aimed at helping them to reinvest in their families and communities urged the beneficiaries to utilise the grant judiciously.
In their separate remarks, the Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr Maureen Aghaukwa and the Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection, Mrs Ngozi Felix all commended Mrs Otti for her commitment to improving the lives of women and families in the state and described the initiative as a process of restoring confidence, unlocking potential and enabling women to thrive.
In an interview a beneficiary, Mrs Nnenna Dickson, thanked the organisers and pledged to utilise the support judiciously to improve her business and livelihood.
