Address By Women Affairs Minister: Town Hall Meeting With Women Empowerment Group

ADDRESS BY

SENATOR AISHA JUMMAI ALHASSAN(MRS), 

MINISTER, FEDERAL MINISTRY OF WOMEN AFFAIRS AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT  

AT THE 

TOWN HALL MEETING ON THENATIONAL WOMEN EMPOWERMENT FUND (NAWEF) AND GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISE AND EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMME (GEEP)  

HELD IN YOLA, ADAMAWA STATE

  19TH September 2016

PROTOCOL

It gives me great pleasure to be inAdamawa State today for this epoch town hall meeting. This is because this specialgathering is a critical first step to the implementation of the Federal Government’s commitment toempowering vulnerable and impoverished Nigerian women through its empowerment initiatives that would stimulate economic development across the country. 

2. It is my pleasure to inform you that the Federal Government of Nigeria, under the leadership of President MuhammaduBuhari has amongst the five-pronged Social Investment Programmes of this Administration approved the GovernmentEnterprise & Empowerment Programme (GEEP). There is also a special fund of N1, 600, 000, 000 specially set aside for women known as the National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF) popularly known as Jarin Mata. The two (GEEP & NAWEF) are financial inclusion and access to credit programmes which aim at reducing poverty.

3. The NAWEF scheme is a unique initiative that specifically targetsgrassroots women operating informal businesses. It will provide start-up and scale-up credit for women, with particular emphasis on rural areas in appreciation of the high poverty levels among them. Thisscheme also recognises the limited access to finances to facilitate growth and entrepreneurial development at the village and community level.

4. Thus, the GEEP and NAWEF programmes are designed with theobjective to:

5. The NAWEF programme which would commence through a pilot scheme in eight (8) states is expected to target about 10,000 women beneficiaries per state and would disburse an estimated N200 Million per state via active and functional cooperatives, local trade associations and other community based groups. Thus, as a strategy to revamp the economy of the North Eastern Zone of the country which has suffered severely as a result of the insurgency, Three (3) statesin this region which include Adamawa,Borno and Yobe states have been deliberately selected to be amongst the (8) pilot states for the NAWEF while the other five states are selected one each from the other five Geo-political zones. It is my belief that the initiative if effectively embraced and utilized would helprejuvenate the economy of the North East region alongside other economic empowerment strategies put in place by the Federal and State Governments, and,other development partners. The GEEP on the other hand is a Nation wide initiative that is open to citizens from all states of the Federation.

6. Let me at this point inform you that NAWEF and GEEP would be administered through the Bank of Industry (BOI) in close partnership with my Ministry. The funds will be provided at no interest and only 5% Administrative charges for the administering bank. For both GEEP and NAWEF, the funds will be given to women groups and other cooperative groups with members of not less than 10 individuals. Thus, between N10, 000 to N100,000 will be provided to each member of the groups with a payback period of 6 months, which would then be ploughed back into the scheme after repayment to enable other potential beneficiaries on the wait to access the said fund.

7. Consequently, women groups and cooperative groups in states like yours are expected to apply for and access the fundwhich has been made available to youthrough this golden opportunity for businesswomen and women entrepreneurs for the NAWEF and also business men for the GEEP.

8. I am optimistic that the NAWEF/GEEPpilots would be a huge success, whichwould necessitate the need to scale up the scope and size of the schemes in the near future. I hope that all states of the federation will participate actively in these programmes. In so doing, they will serveas catalysts for stimulating access and growth opportunities for women especiallyin the non-oil sectors of the economy. That will also help mitigate the feminization of poverty in the country.

9. Let me also state that although measures have been put in place to ensure that these soft loans are repaid, I am counting on your sincerity and commitment as women to keep up with the loan repayment plans as statistics continue to prove that women pay uploans and debts better than their male counterpart.  

10. Finally, let me reassure you that my Ministry on its part, would continue to ensure that business women and women entrepreneurs in Nigeria; particularly those at the grassroot level receive the necessary support through effective policyformulation and implementation that would encourage and ensure the proper mainstreaming of women concerns into all facets of the economy.

11.On this note, I would like to commend the Adamawa State Government for walking hand in hand with my Ministry to ensure that theseempowerment initiatives become a reality.  

12.Once again, I welcome you all and thank you for your time and attention.