Building Financial Resilience, Security for Women

Building financial resilience and security to upgrade the standard of living for women is a forte of Nestle Nigeria, a leading firm in Africa. In its drive towards attaining Sustainable Development Goal 5 before 2030, Nestlé Nigeria empowered 32 women from Lagos, Bauchi, and Rivers states, totalling 282. Rebecca Ejifoma writes on how the grants for these women help them navigate the current economic shakeouts and contribute richly to society.

Everything became bright and beautiful for the first time in a long while for Blessing Abayi, a single mother from the Bauchi state of Nigeria. She had a touch of Nestlé empowering rural women. “I used to struggle with paying my children’s school fees,” she admitted. “After three months in the programme, for the first time, I paid the fees in full and on time.” She expressed gleefully, acknowledging her growing business as the reason.

For the benefit of rural women, Nestlé toured the Ikorodu area of Lagos and gave some women a breath of fresh air in cash. One of them is Mrs. Olubunmi Adeoye. She expressed her gratitude to Nestlé for the opportunity to be part of the project. “I am so happy that Nestlé chose me to benefit from this program. It is a wonderful opportunity,” she said.

For another beneficiary in Ikorodu, Mrs Bukola Ajala, Nestlé rural women empowerment looked just like a movie. “I have not seen any empowerment like this before. I know I am going to the next level.” Like Adeoye, Ajala received free goods like Nestlé products as a starter for her trade.

For the best-performing beneficiary, Mrs Oghenetega Delight Jombo, of Jombo Stores, Port Harcourt, in Rivers state, it is no longer business as usual. “I have reached a business growth of 675 per cent within six months of joining the programme,” she said enthusiastically, adding, “I have sustained a monthly turnover of over N547,623.67 since.”

For these women, who are proud beneficiaries and retailers in Nestlé Nigeria’s value chain, financial insecurity is no longer their Achilles heels. They have been trained, mentored, and furnished with appropriate grants through Nestlé products.

This initiative is possible because Nestlé got the message to the letter — empowering women does not only increase their potential participation in the labour market but enables them to become financially resilient, access economic resources and opportunities, including jobs, financial services, property and other productive assets, skills development and market information.

Components of the Initiative

Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria aims to help beneficiaries scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing businesses. Each beneficiary receives grants valued at 300 per cent of their monthly sales through Nestlé products, business training and a three-month mentorship program. Each beneficiary is linked to a mentor for one-on-one coaching over the three months to ensure their success.

At the induction of the thirty-two new beneficiaries in Ikorodu recently, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr Khaled Ramadan, said, “We are pleased with the success of the 250 beneficiaries of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria and are delighted by the opportunity to include 32 more today.

282 Women across Nigeria

With 32 additional beneficiaries from Ikorodu, this project boasts 282 women nationwide. The other beneficiaries include 50 women from each of these geopolitical zones, including North Central – Abuja suburbs; South West – Oshogo, Ede and Ilesha; South East – Nsukka and environs; South-South – Port-Harcourt suburbs; North East – Bauchi.

Beneficiaries Enabled Economically

With this addition, 282 women across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria now have a unique opportunity to scale up their businesses. According to Nestlé’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Victoria Uwadoka, each beneficiary received grants in the form of Nestlé products up to 300 per cent of their monthly businesses.

“They received a mix of Nestlé products, including Maggi and Milo,” she listed. Adding, “We are confident that the new beneficiaries will also transform their businesses, making the best use of Nestlé’s support through training, mentorship and grants in the form of Nestlé products.”

Mr. Phranklin Audu is the Head of Partnerships & Training at FDConsults, an implementation partner of the Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project. He is over the moon on their new feat. “As an NGO focused on empowering people to improve their livelihoods, we are thrilled by the impact of this project on rural communities. Over 80 per cent of the beneficiaries have seen their incomes grow and can support their families better.

FDConsults is an NGO with a record of equipping businesspeople in rural areas with the information and skills they need to increase their household income and improve their living standards.

The Journey of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project

The Nestlé empowering rural women project took off the ground in August 2021, with 50 female retailers from the suburbs of Abuja. The programme soon trickled down to more women from the South-East, North-East, South-South, and South-West, including Lagos.

Owing to this rapid expansion, over 80 per cent of beneficiaries reported an increase of 100 per cent to 200 per cent in their business growth within three months of joining the programme.

Uwadoka reiterates the company’s commitment to building thriving communities by improving household incomes. Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project is one of the ways through which Nestlé Nigeria is Creating Shared Value along her value chain.

“Since inception, Nestlé has been a force for good. Creating Shared Value is at the core of how we do business. Therefore, we always look for opportunities to create value for everyone along our value chain,” says Nwadoka.

For Nestle, women retailers are part of its success story and a significant part of its value chain. Thus, allowing them to scale their businesses will not only swell their financial security but will also benefit their families, society and the nation.