By David Akinmola
A non-profit organisation, Naija Business Owners Forum has revealed plans to train over 2000 women in Imo State on Small Micro Enterprises (SMEs) and financial management.
The convener of the group, Elizabeth Udo-Kalu, who disclosed in Owerri, yesterday, said the motive was to help unemployed women and housewives combat poverty as well as achieve economic growth and stability.
Udo-Kalu, a former banker turned business coach, said the participants, who would be drawn across the state, would be exposed to seamless ways of exploring bank loans to start up small businesses; how best to invest in good interest-yielding ventures and to run profitable businesses with small capital.
She said, “NBOF is made up of business and financial experts poised to help small business owners in Nigeria understand the technicalities involved in bank loans for effective business growth.
“Today, we want to offer our expertise to over 2000 Imo women, mainly unemployed ones including housewives and students in the form of training on how to be financially independent and overcome poverty.
“We are going to teach them how to easily access bank loans to start-up SMEs, how to manage the business for maximum profits as well as manage their finances efficiently and effectively.”
She continued, “we are also going to expose them to financial management technicalities, investments, and other things involving business and finance for better economic growth and stability.
“Our target is to take at least 2000 women in Imo State out of poverty zone, reduce the unemployment rate in the state and also gainfully engage them meaningfully to address issues of sexual exploitation, human rights abuses among other social vices some of them may indulge in because of idleness, frustration, and poverty.”
“Also we are currently running weekly media programmes on (put the name of the channel here) as a means to extend this training to the general public for a more financially prosperous society,” she added.
