300 women, youth get starter-packs, capital in Niger

Over 300 women and youth in Niger State have been empowered with starter packs and start-up capital to begin soap making and cosmetology business. The women were beneficiaries of the Quick Win Vocational Skill training organised by the National Directorate of Employment. At the disbursement ceremony which was held in Suleja, yesterday, one of the […]

Over 300 women and youth in Niger State have been empowered with starter packs and start-up capital to begin soap making and cosmetology business.

The women were beneficiaries of the Quick Win Vocational Skill training organised by the National Directorate of Employment.

At the disbursement ceremony which was held in Suleja, yesterday, one of the beneficiaries from Tarfa local government, Blessing John, said they have been empowered to start their business after the training.

“We have been given the equipment and capital to start our business.  For the soap making, they have given us the chemical and capital to buy some items. We were trained for one month and now we have the equipment to do the business,” she said.

The women leader in Gurara local government, Halima Usman, said the disbursement would help the women in the community to start their own businesses and be economically empowered.

In her address, wife of the minister of State for Mines and Steel Development said the training was the women’s journey to self-development, adding that if they showed commitment and hard work , they would become employers soon.

The minister of Mines and Steel Development who is the initiator of the programme and represented by the Director General, National Steel Raw Materials Exploration Agency (NSRMEA), Engineer Umar Albarka Hassan, urged the beneficiaries to go back to their notes in order not to forget what they learnt. He added that if women are empowered, the society is empowered.

The Director General of the National Directorate of Employment who was represented by Engineer Abdullahi Babaminin Muhammed told the women and youth that with the certificates they have gotten for the training, they can apply for loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).