Five hundred women in Abia State have become new beneficiaries of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) and Tony Elumelu Foundation Women Economic Empowerment Programme, joining 18,000 others across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Each woman received N50,000 to support their businesses.
At the flag-off ceremony in Umuahia, the wife of the Abia State governor, Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, who represented Senator Oluremi Tinubu, explained that the Tony Elumelu Foundation donated N1 billion to the programme to empower 18,500 women nationwide. She noted that the initiative was designed to help women recapitalise and grow their small businesses.
Mrs. Otti said, “This programme is a boost to women traders and small-scale business owners who work tirelessly to provide for their families, educate their children, and uplift their communities. The N50,000 grant is not a loan but a seed of renewed hope to strengthen existing businesses.”
She commended the Tony Elumelu Foundation for its generosity and praised Senator Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative for promoting economic empowerment, social welfare, and education for women across Nigeria.
A representative of the foundation, Mr. Ikechukwu Aria Uka, stressed the organisation’s broad reach, stating, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation has a presence in 54 African countries with hundreds of alumni beneficiaries.”
Mrs. Otti also thanked her husband, Governor Alex Otti, for ensuring the proper implementation of RHI programmes in Abia State. She expressed hope that such initiatives would inspire similar acts of generosity nationwide.
Some of the women who received the financial support expressed appreciation and pledged to use the funds wisely. They also called for the programme to be extended to include more women across the country, stressing that the grants would help them expand their businesses and support their families.