The Patience Umo Eno Golden Initiative for All, GIFA, has empowered 300 women drawn from the 31 Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom State with business equipment and financial support to strengthen their livelihoods and promote economic independence.
The intervention, implemented in collaboration with Fidelity Bank, forms part of GIFA’s broader women empowerment programme aimed at supporting small-scale businesses and improving the socio-economic wellbeing of women across the state.
Speaking at the empowerment programme in Uyo, the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady and Chairman, Board of Trustees of GIFA, Lady Helen Eno Obareki, said the latest intervention had increased the number of beneficiaries reached under the initiative’s Women Empowerment thematic area to about 7,000.
Lady Helen, who described the programme as a practical expression of the vision of the founder of GIFA, Pastor Patience Umo Eno, said the initiative was focused on providing women with tangible means of improving their businesses and achieving self-reliance.
She explained that the beneficiaries were drawn from three major areas of enterprise, with women in tailoring and fashion receiving sewing machines, those involved in agricultural processing and related businesses receiving grinders, while others received financial support and Point-of-Sale machines.
According to her, the intervention is designed to create a multiplier effect, as economically empowered women are better positioned to support their families, employ others and contribute to community development.
“Through our various programmes across eight thematic areas, we have taken real help directly to our rural communities.”
Lady Helen said GIFA would continue to take its interventions closer to communities, stressing that the objective was to ensure that assistance reaches people who require practical support to improve their livelihoods.
“Today, we are taking that same energy further by empowering yet another strong group of women with the tools they need to succeed.”
Also speaking, the Executive Director, South South Directorate of Fidelity Bank, Mrs Pamela Shodipo, said the intervention was aimed at providing women with the tools and resources required to convert their skills and potential into sustainable livelihoods.
Shodipo noted that supporting women has wider implications for families and communities, as empowered women are able to strengthen household incomes, create employment and contribute to local economic development.
She urged the beneficiaries to regard the support as an opportunity to build sustainable enterprises and extend its impact to others within their communities.
“Empowerment is about providing people with the tools and capital needed to turn their potential into possibilities and ultimately prosperity.”
The bank representative also commended GIFA for its intervention in the lives of women and vulnerable groups in the state, stressing the importance of sustained support for grassroots enterprise development.
The Team Lead of GIFA, Pastor Anne Abraham, said investing in women creates a lasting impact on families and communities, while the Head of Financial Inclusion at the Bank, Obinna Egwuonwu, advised the beneficiaries to develop their capacity and manage their businesses with professionalism and a focus on sustainability.
In goodwill messages, the President of WALGON, Mrs Akaninyene Uwemedimo; President of COSAWA, Dr Bright Archibong; and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Bureau of Cooperatives and Rural Development, Hon. Alice Ekpenyong, commended the initiative and urged beneficiaries to make productive use of the support provided.
They cautioned the beneficiaries against disposing of the equipment, advising them to use the items to strengthen and expand their businesses.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Naomi Emmanuel expressed appreciation to GIFA and its partners, saying the intervention would provide the women with renewed opportunities to improve their livelihoods.
The beneficiaries also pledged to extend the impact of the programme by providing free skills training to other women in their communities.
