The First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has provided financial support to 500 women in Enugu State to boost their small businesses. Each beneficiary received N50,000 through the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) in partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
The initiative, tagged “Provision of Small Business Recapitalisation Grant to 500 Women Across 36 States and FCT,” forms part of the RHI/Tony Elumelu Foundation Women Economic Empowerment Programme. The 500 beneficiaries were selected from all 17 local government areas of Enugu State through the Office of the State’s First Lady, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah.
At the event held in Enugu on Thursday, Mrs Tinubu, represented by Mrs Mbah, explained that the programme was designed to encourage women’s entrepreneurial drive and strengthen their contributions to society.
“This is not a loan. It is a grant and a seed of renewed hope to help you recapitalise your existing businesses,” she said. “When you empower a woman, you empower a household, a community, and indeed, a nation.”
The First Lady commended the Tony Elumelu Foundation for donating N1 billion to the Renewed Hope Initiative to support 18,500 women nationwide with N50,000 each. She also thanked Governor Peter Mbah and his wife for backing the implementation of the programme in Enugu.
One of the beneficiaries, Theresa Agor from Uzouwani Local Government Area, expressed gratitude, describing the grant as timely support that would help her business thrive.
The initiative targets women who are traders and small-scale business owners, with the broader goal of promoting economic growth by supporting grassroots entrepreneurship.
