The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, in partnership with the Renewed Hope Initiative, RHI, has empowered 500 women in Anambra State with business equipment to support their enterprises and improve their livelihoods.
The empowerment programme was held in Awka as 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 beneficiaries received various productive assets, including deep-chest freezers, maxi gas cookers with ovens, generators and industrial grinding machines, to enable them to establish new businesses or expand existing enterprises.
Speaking at the event, the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, said the initiative was aimed at promoting economic inclusion and empowering women to become more financially independent.
Her message was delivered by the First Lady of Anambra State, Dr. Mrs. Nonye Soludo.
She said the programme aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, particularly its focus on inclusive economic growth and sustainable development through the economic empowerment of women.
According to her, empowering women also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5, which focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and SDG 8, which promotes decent work and economic growth.
The First Lady expressed appreciation to the Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, and his wife, Dr. Mrs. Nonye Soludo, for their support towards the implementation of Renewed Hope Initiative programmes in the state.
Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, Princess Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, represented by a senior aide, said the beneficiaries were deliberately selected from vulnerable groups within the society.
She identified some of the beneficiaries as wives of fallen heroes, widows, indigent women and other vulnerable women who have the willingness to work and improve their livelihoods but require the necessary opportunities and productive assets.
Orelope-Adefulire said the programme went beyond the distribution of equipment, stressing that the items were intended to serve as productive assets capable of unlocking the beneficiaries’ potential and promoting economic independence.
She encouraged the beneficiaries to utilise the equipment effectively to establish or strengthen sustainable businesses.
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 Anambra State Government and the Federal Government.
They urged the beneficiaries to put the equipment to productive use, noting that the impact of the intervention would be greater if the items translated into sustainable businesses, increased household income and improved livelihoods.
The beneficiaries expressed appreciation to the First Ladies for the intervention, describing the equipment as valuable support that would help them strengthen their businesses and become more economically self-reliant.
The empowerment programme forms part of broader efforts under the SDGs and RHI to promote women’s economic participation and improve livelihood opportunities across the country.
