Finlite, BOI empower Osun women

The Finlite Grassroot Initiative, with the support of the Bank of Industry, has empowered over 300 rural women in Ife Central, Ife North, Ife East, Ife South and Atakumosa West of Osun State.

In a statement on Wednesday, the event held recently in Ile-Ife was aimed at enhancing the social and economic mobility of the beneficiaries.

The Executive Director of FGI, Enitan Kuku-Omonijo, said the initiative, which focuses on providing women with the necessary skills, resources, and financial support, marked an important step towards promoting gender equality and economic development in the state.

According to the executive director, the initiative is dedicated to helping low-income women start small businesses or scale up their existing businesses for upward socioeconomic mobility.

The Director of Programmes and Operations, Lizzy Edward, remarked that some of the women got tailoring machines, industrial gas burners, freezers, grinding machines, hairdressing equipment, ovens and food support; noting that the programme offered women a hand-up and not handout.

The Director of Women Affairs, Osun State Ministry of Women, Children and Social Affairs, Olayemisi Oladele, emphasised that the government needed partnerships with organisations and stakeholders to keep the state more efficiently empowered.

“Women empowerment is vital to the growth and prosperity of any economy,” she said.

Similarly, the FGI Director of Strategy and Implementation, Adebisi Odeleye, encouraged the beneficiaries to make good use of the assets, saying it has the power to provide them with a decent livelihood.