An interest group, Hope Raisers Global Foundation (HRGF), on Sunday, commenced a move to advance the growth of women-led businesses in underserved communities.
The group, in partnership with Tech Herfrica and Onome Food Market, also an NGO, began the training at Durumi, Abuja camp of internally-displaced persons (IDPs).
Founder of HRGF, Mrs Angonimi David-Imeh, said that the move was aimed at giving the marginalised women in-depth financial management training as well as empowering and equipping them with essential skills.
David-Imeh said that the training was all about transforming women who were in the trade and agricultural sectors.
According to her, the initiative represents a crucial step, following a previous project that laid the foundation for digital empowerment among women in underserved communities.
She said that digital literacy training had earlier been provided to 50 women, adding that 26 of them were equipped with mobile devices to enhance their engagement in agriculture and trade.
David-Imeh stated that the initial training uncovered a stark reality, stressing that none of the women possessed the skills required to calculate their business sales, profits and losses.
“This knowledge gap perpetuated a cycle of poverty and hindered business growth.
“The initial training included comprehensive digital literacy and fundamental financial management concepts,” she said.
David-Imeh further stated that in previous trainings, participants were taught how to calculate business capital inputs, determine sales profits and losses and keep accurate financial records.
She said that the training was conducted in Hausa language to ensure accessibility, while each participant received a notebook to facilitate book keeping and reinforce their new knowledge.
“The impact of this training was nothing short of remarkable 100 per cent of the women now possess the ability to calculate their income and expenses accurately.
“All participants can effectively determine profit and loss. A unanimous eagerness among the women to initiate book keeping for their businesses has been expressed.
“Confidence has surged among participants in maintaining proper financial records,” she added.
According to David-Imeh, the group’s concern regarding writing in English has also been addressed, with women affirming their abilities to write in their local languages.
She said that in order to foster sustainability, local clusters and champions had been established to facilitate the training and guidance of other women in the community.
The HRGF founder stated that the approach would promote knowledge sharing and continuous learning within the IDP community.
She said that one of the women who exhibited significant potential for business growth received financial support to scale her business.
David-Imeh said that the support was expected to increase her income by at least 50 per cent and further validate the effectiveness of the approach and training given to the women.
According to her, the initiative underscores the importance of digital and financial literacy to the empowerment of low-income women.
She maintained that this kind of systematic approach was what the country needed to bring more women out of poverty. (NAN)
Source: News Agency of Nigeria