INTELS Expands Women’s Empowerment Drive, Enhances Host Communities

Oluchi Chibuzor

INTELS Nigeria Limited, has strengthened its commitment to women’s economic empowerment with the graduation of 62 trainees from its 2025 Women Empowerment Project Scheme Synergy (WEPSS). The graduation ceremony was held on Friday at the Rosa Volpi Women Development Centre located within the Federal Lighter Terminal at the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone in Rivers State.

WEPSS, launched in 2013 as part of INTELS’ Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, was conceived to train 5,000 women in tailoring and fashion design over a 20-year period.

INTELS Managing Director, Mr Pasquale Fiore, described the initiative as a cornerstone of the company’s community partnership model. Speaking at the event, he reiterated INTELS’ determination to ensure that women in and around its host communities are equipped with the tools to attain financial independence.

“We firmly believe that when women thrive, communities thrive,” he said. “Our vision for WEPSS has always been to do more than train; we want to create opportunities for lasting prosperity. That is why, in 2022, we enhanced the programme by awarding fully equipped shop facilities to the best graduates. It is a way of saying that excellence, hard work and commitment will always be recognised.”

WEPSS Project Coordinator, Nancy Freeborn, emphasised the wider social impact of the training scheme. She noted that the programme has transformed the lives of many women in Rivers State, enabling them to become contributors to family welfare and community development rather than dependants.

She highlighted the company’s consistent investment in skill development, innovation, and industry relevance, including the introduction of the Train-the-Trainer Scheme and partnerships with the Fashion Experience Festival and Private Broadway Shows, platforms that offer students exposure to broader creative and commercial opportunities in the fashion industry.

At the event, the 2025 Best Graduating Trainee, Saraphina Jacob, received N2 million and a starter kit that included an industrial sewing machine and a steam iron. In her note of appreciation on behalf of the 2025 graduating beneficiaries, she thanked INTELS for “opening a door that many young women only dream of” and expressed her commitment to using the opportunity to build a sustainable fashion business that would “make the company and the community proud.”