By Our Reporter
Executive Chairman of Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government, Prince Usman Hamzat, has embarked on massive empowerment of market women in the Area. A total of 250 beneficiaries were empowered with fifty thousand Naira each in the first batch of the disbursement of the Traders Support Fund (TSF) that took place on Tuesday, 21st September 2021.
A total of 12.5 million Naira was handed out to the participants who had earlier undergone a two-week business development and management training facilitated by YouLead Africa.
In his address, Prince Usman Hamzat said the second batch of the disbursement of another 12.5 million Naira to the second set of 250 participants will take place in October 2021. This would make a total of 500 beneficiaries empowered with 25 million Naira in the first year of the Traders Support Fund.
He said the Traders Support Fund is a 400 million Naira grant to be disbursed yearly for the four year-term of his administration. This meant that 100 million Naira would be disbursed to market women on yearly basis.
The Chairman thanked YouLead Africa for partnering with the Local Government to execute the programme. He, therefore, enjoined the beneficiaries to put all they were taught in the training to good use so that the money given to them would positively impact their businesses.
In her remarks, the Project Coordinator of YouLead Africa, Mrs. Ozioma Okafor admonished the recipients to treat the fund as a seed which they are to plant and nurture so that it can grow and bear abundant fruits for them.
Other dignitaries, including the Vice Chairman of the Local Government, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Awoniyi-Akerele; the Chairman of the APC in Ifako-Ijaiye, Deacon Banjo Omole; APC Women Leader, Alhaja Adeyinka Fetuga; Mr. Lookman Adeleye, representing Hon. James Adisa Owolabi, Member of the House of Representative, Ifako-Ijaiye Federal Constituency; the Chairman/CEO of Dotam Group of Companies, Hon. Eric Okafor; YouLead Africa’s General Administrative Manager, Mrs. Janet Chukwuka; the Oba-elect of Iju-Ogundimu Kingdom, Prince Gbolahan Ogundimu; the Iyaloja of Ifako-Ijaiye, Chief Mrs. Doyin Coker-Ogunbiyi; members of the Management Team; the President, Ifako-Ijaiye Muslim Community, Alhaji Sunmonu; CAN Chairman in Ifako-Ijaiye, Messenger Olubode Shobukola; and other community leaders were present to felicitate with the beneficiaries and to encourage them to use the fund wisely.