Nestlé Empowers 50 Rural Women on Improving existing business
Victoria Ogunrinde
Nestlé Nigeria PLC on Friday launched a project to Empower Rural Women in Nigeria to scale up their retail businesses through training, mentorship, and grants in form of Nestlé products.
Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan while speaking in Abuja, noted that Nestlé’s aim is to make significant contributions to the wellbeing of Nigerians and help sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing business.
According to Ramadan, “the first phase of the project titled “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria”, the company will provide three times the monthly turnover of each of the 50 selected female retailers in form of Nestlé products such as Maggi, Milo, Golden morn and Nescafe.
“The company is aimed at empowering women and driving their business in their local communities. Looking behind, this drive is an opportunity to further scale up their business by providing them with an average of 300 percent of the product compared to their most average sales that we can use the return of this to invest it in growing their business and then support their families, then at the later stage they are only supposed to pay back 20 percent after 3 months.”
Similarly, he added that the company is confident, that the support provided to the retailers through training, mentorship, and grants will go a long way towards helping them improve their standards of living by increasing their sales outputs.
“We are excited to see the start of the implementation of this first phase of the project and look forward to the eventual scale up to reach more women across Nigeria.”
In his remarks, the Lead Trainer & Head of Partnerships at Straplan Advisory Ltd, Phranklin Audu said, “For Nestle, the overarching goal is to ensure that these 50 selected participants are able to triple their income and ultimately improve their livelihoods.
“Selected from 3 area districts in Abuja- Kubwa, Nyanya, and Gwagwalada, the rural traders will undergo a period of business coaching and mentoring to help them strengthen their business process in a bid to scale their businesses.
“We commend Nestlé for such a laudable project and hope the project is sustained and replicated across other states and regions of the country”, Audu added.
During the event to flag off the project, one of the beneficiaries Mrs. Clementina Irandi said” I am beyond happy and I do not know how to express myself for being one of the 50 women chosen to participate in this empowerment by Nestlé. The free goods and training we received today will particularly be helpful in taking my business to the next level. I thank Nestlé for everything they have done for me and my family.”
Also speaking, the Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, Victoria Uwadoka however said “Training will be provided by implementation partners with a track record of helping rural dwellers access information and skills to improve their standards of living.
“The retailers will be linked to one on one mentors for additional guidance and consistent support to ensure their success”, Uwadoka added.