The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in partnership with the Nigerian Army Officers Wives Association (NAOWA), yesterday started a two-day training on capacity building for the association’s members.
At the programme tagged: Institutional support for NAOWA, holding at the Military Cantonment, Ojo, Lagos, SMEDAN promised to give grants to NAOWA members to start their own businesses.
The Director-General, SMEDAN, Olawale Fasanya, while speaking on the purpose of the workshop said the training is designed to enhance the capacity of NAOWA members in the state.
“The capacity building workshop is aimed at forging a formidable collaboration that will make a significant impact on the welfare and wellbeing of members.
“It is to empower wives of our gallant officers both standing and fallen heroes, especially those at the lowest rung of the ladder.”
He said the programme would strengthen the capacity and sharpen the skills of members as regards to how they could manage and run their businesses.
“We will help members grow their businesses and those who are not doing anything; we will assist them in starting a business.
“The programme is not only on capacity building, at the end, the wives of the officers will be given some grants to enable them manage their businesses well.
“The training will help create jobs and reduce poverty among our officers’ wives.”
The programme is coming at the right time given the challenging situation in our dear country, it will help curb poverty. Having appropriate business skills will raise our standard of living and productivity.
Fasanya was represented by Dr. Friday Okpara, the Director in charge of Partnership and Coordination of the agency.
The National President of NAOWA, Mrs Salamatu Yahaya, in her address urged her members to see the empowerment as a leverage to carve out a niche to becoming successful entrepreneurs and inspirational business women to others.
She said: “It is a fact that when you empower a woman, you have empowered the whole family.
“The programme is coming at the right time given the challenging situation in our dear country, it will help curb poverty. Having appropriate business skills will raise our standard of living and productivity.”
Yahaya, represented by the Acting Chairperson, 81 Division, Lagos State, Mrs Laraban Ben-Onyeuko, thanked Fasanya for considering NAOWA members worthy beneficiaries of SMEDAN’s Institutional Support Programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
In an interview with Onyeuko, she said the programme would assist women in the barracks to be comfortable.
“The training will teach our women how to do businesses and how to improve on them. Women are the front burner of every household; we must be doing something to support our husbands.
“We will be empowered with accounting skills and how to turn our one kobo to one naira.”
According to her, in the next few years, women in the barracks will become millionaires. (NAN)
