NCWD, PACDIN to help women, youth access gov’t funds

By Stanley Onyekwere

In a bid to empower rural women and youth, the National Centre for Women Development (NCWD) in collaboration with Peace Advocacy and Community Development Initiative (PACDIN) has kicked off a workshop on how to enable them access microfinance loans.
It was gathered that the workshop would equip rural women on small and medium enterprises, as well as how ways to access loans under various government schemes of the government. The workshop themed, “Rural Women and Youth Accesibility of Microfinance Facility for Rural SMEs Development and Growth in Nigeria”, commenced today, in the nation’s capital.
This was disclosed by the Director-General, NCWD, Abuja, Mrs Mary Ekpere-Eta, while briefing newsmen on Friday in Abuja ahead of a three-day workshop on Rural Women Transformation and Entrepreneurship Development.
Ekpere-Eta, represented by NCWD’s Director, Training and Development, Maimuna Mani Yangora said the Centre had also written to notify state ministries of women wives of governors, local government chairmen and other stakeholders to mobilise women as participants.
She opines that: “the workshop would help reposition women to take advantage of the numerous generous financial policies of the present administration in its next bid and agenda to lift up over a hundred million Nigerians out of poverty.”