FG earmarks N1.6bn for women empowerment programme

By Bayo Alabira Dutse

The federal government, yesterday, said it has set aside N1.6 billion for women empowerment programme called the National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF). The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Alhassan, made this disclosure at a town hall meeting with women groups in Dutse. Alhassan said that NAWEF is part of the FG’s Social Investment Intervention Programme known as the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). She explained that the programme was being implemented by the ministry in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI), the administrating bank for the fund.

“The GEEP is a micro-credit programme for men and women, boys and girls; and out of the GEEP fund, a sum of N1.6 billion, has been set aside exclusively for women. “Both NAWEF and GEEP are financial inclusion and microcredit programmes,” she said. She said the aims of NAWEF and GEEP were to provide micro-credit facilities for men and women; reduce poverty among rural dwellers and provide skills development, training and business support, especially for women. According to her, the aims are also to assist in rebuilding the economies of rural areas through financial inclusion. Alhassan said that the programmes were meant to build strong partnership between the federal and state ministries of women affairs, the BoI and development partners. The partners, according to the minister are, the World Bank, African Development Bank, UN Women, UNIDO among others to provide a solid platform for implementing the programmes. She added that the NAWEF and GEEP had 13 important features that every beneficiary needed to know. “NAWEF is exclusively for women, who engage in production enterprises while GEEP is for both men and women; artisans, farmers, market women or entrepreneurs, who engage in productive enterprise”.

According to her, each beneficiary can get between N10,000 and N100,000 as loan, which is payable within six months, with one-month grace after disbursement, before repayment starts. However, the minister said that each beneficiary should belong to a registered association; cooperative society or any other trade organisation, which had a minimum of 10 members and a maximum of 20 members.

Every group, she said, must have a group leader, but not compulsory for existing organisations with a large membership. “That is those who have more than 20 members and with national spread, for example, women organisations such as NCWS, FOMWAN. “Application can be made in groups of 20 members from their different branches at state or local government levels,” she explained. According to her, the loans will be paid directly into beneficiaries’ personal accounts, not the group account. Alhassan stated that each applicant must have his or her personal account, which must have BVN that could be used for verification.

 

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