The First Lady of Nigeria, Oluremi Tinubu, has given financial support to 500 women in Enugu State to boost their small businesses. Each beneficiary received N50,000 through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
The programme is called the RHI/Tony Elumelu Foundation Women Economic Empowerment Programme with the theme, “Provision of Small Business Recapitalisation Grant to 500 Women Across 36 States and FCT.”
The beneficiaries were carefully selected from the 17 local government areas of Enugu State through the Office of the State’s First Lady, Nkechinyere Mbah. The event, which was held in Enugu on Thursday, focused on supporting women who are traders and small-scale business owners.
In a message delivered at the event, Mrs Tinubu explained that the programme was created to encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian women. She stated that these women work hard daily to provide for their families, educate their children, and make positive contributions to their communities.
The First Lady was represented at the event by Mrs Nkechinyere Mbah, wife of the Enugu State Governor. She said, “I am delighted to be here to flag off the Women Economic Empowerment Programme of the Renewed Hope Initiative in conjunction with the Tony Elumelu Foundation in Enugu State. Let me emphasise that this is not a loan. It is a grant and a seed of renewed hope to help you recapitalise your existing businesses.”
She stressed the importance of empowering women, adding, “It is my firm belief that when you empower a woman, you empower a household, a community, and indeed, a nation.”
Mrs Tinubu praised the Tony Elumelu Foundation for donating N1 billion to RHI to directly support 18,500 women across Nigeria. She explained that women from each of the 36 states and the FCT would receive N50,000 each to strengthen and recapitalise their businesses.
“Therefore, I will be presenting the sum of N50,000 each to some of the pre-selected 500 beneficiaries at this event. I thank the Tony Elumelu Foundation once again for this support. May this act of generosity inspire many more across our nation. I also thank Gov. Peter Mbah and his amiable wife, Nkechinyere, for all their support in executing all the programmes of RHI,” she said.
One of the beneficiaries, Theresa Agor from Uzouwani Council Area, expressed her gratitude, saying, “My heart is filled with joy with this support, and may God bless the President’s wife and the Elumelu Foundation for this kind gesture.”
