Nestlé Nigeria is set to helping more rural women in Nigeria to build financial security and improve their standard of living with the recent launch of the fourth phase of the Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project in Port Harcourt.
An additional 50 beneficiaries from the South South region of the country, selected from the company’s value chain, were inducted into the program at a ceremony that included several training sessions.
At the training and induction session in Port Harcourt, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are happy to fulfil our promise of expanding Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project to reach more women in other parts of Nigeria. We are pleased with the progress made so far by the 150 currently benefiting from the project. The beneficiaries who currently enjoy the training and mentorship provided by Nestlé and her implementation partners – FDConsults, are reporting faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger visibility of their outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that these additional 50 selected retailers in South South, will also reap the full benefits of the support we are providing through training, mentorship and grants.”
The company said the beneficiaries comprising female retailers in Nestlé’s value chain, will receive grants valued at 300 per cent of their monthly sales in form of Nestlé’s products. They will also participate in training and mentorship programs which will enable them scale up their businesses, thereby increasing their household incomes.
In his remarks at the induction and training for the new beneficiaries, Mr. Phranklin Audu, Head, Partnerships & Training at FDConsults said, “The Nestlé Empowering Rural Women project is such an amazing initiative. The progress and growth recorded by the women in the several states where the project is already ongoing is quite refreshing to see. We are talking about visible growth.
Grade-C retailers are moving up the distribution ladder and more importantly these women are doing more sales turnovers thereby earning higher incomes for themselves. We must commend the visioners of this project and the entire project team for staying true to cause”.
One of the beneficiaries Mrs. Joyce Nwaiwo, expressing her gratitude to Nestlé said, “I feel so happy about this opportunity. I still cannot believe that this is true, because it is just like a dream. I want to say a big thank you to Nestlé.”
