By Joy Odigie
Benin – The wife of Edo Governor, Mrs Betsy Obaseki has presented cheque of N50,000 each to 2,000 female entrepreneurs who are into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the state.
Obaseki presented the soft loans as part of activities to commemorate the 2018 International Women’s Day Celebration in Benin on Thursday.
The event was organised by the Edo State Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the office of the Wife of the Governor.
She said the initiative, supported by the Bank of Industry (BoI) was to assist women to grow and expand their SMEs.
Obaseki said some of the beneficiaries were successful participants of the Edo Women for Agriculture and Enterprise initiative, while others were drawn from several cooperative societies across the state.
“The 2000 women are going to be beneficiaries of the first phase of this scheme.
“In 2017, we empowered 500 women with poultry birds to make each of them earn at least N150,000 from the sales of the eggs,’’ she said.
The wife of the Edo governor also launched the Betsy Obaseki After School Club (BOASC) and the Edo Women Monthly Farmers Market initiative.
She said BOASC seeks to address the root of economic hardship among women through the empowerment of school girls with sustainable skills in shoe making and auto mechanic.
“This initiative aims to build confidence in their abilities and give these girls a firm footing against traffickers, who may approach them with promises of better lives abroad.’’
“180 school girls drawn from 18 Public Secondary schools are participating in the first phase,’’ she said.
According to her, the Women Farmers Market initiative is to promote the purchase of healthy agricultural produce as well as provide ready markets for women farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers.
She said the theme for this year’s celebration “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Life’’ was apt.
According to her, it reinforces the need for all hands to be on deck and work concertedly for the overall progress and stability of Women.
In her remarks, the Commissioner for Women affairs and Social Development, Mrs Magdalene Ohenhen, said the occasion was to highlight the activities, progress and problems confronting women in all aspects of life.
Ohenhen said women had continually been challenged by issues such as maternal and infant mortality, poverty, unemployment, lack of employment, low income and low participation in governance.
She, however, commended the Edo State Government for mainstreaming women into governance and the appointment of Women as Special Assistants on Gender issues.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the International Women’s Day is a global event, which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
The day, which is celebrated every March 8, is a call to action for accelerating gender parity.