By: HighCelebritySquard
In August 2021, Nestlé Nigeria launched “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in
Nigeria project” which aims to help rural women retailers within the company’s
value chain scale up their businesses to increase their household incomes. The
program was recently launched in Nsukka and Obolo-Afor, both in Enugu State
to reach an additional 50 women retailers. This brings the number of
beneficiaries to 150.
“Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project” is designed to equip
female distributors at the end of the pyramid to scale up to three times the size
of their existing business over 3 months and to sustain the new level.
Speaking on Nestlé’s contributions to empowering women within her value
chain, Mr. Khaled Ramadan, Commercial Manager for Nestlé Nigeria, said,
“At Nestlé, we believe that by contributing to the health and wellbeing of our
communities, we create shared value for all stakeholders while contributing to
the growth of our business. “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria
project” is our way of improving the livelihoods of women in the rural areas by
helping them scale their businesses to three times its current volume within
three months. Our ambition is to empower 300 of these women who are
retailers within our distribution channel.”
“We have received very positive feedback from the first 100 beneficiaries of the
program who are based in the suburbs of Abuja and Osogbo.
They are reporting faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger visibility of their
business outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that our
intervention through training, mentorship and product grants are a right mix for
success. By improving the household incomes of the rural women, Nestlé is
helping to improve their access to adequate nutrition, good healthcare and good
quality education for their families.”
The beneficiaries of “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project”
receive grants by way of Nestlé products valued at 300% of their current monthly
sales. They also participate in training and mentorship programs which equip
them with the requisite skills to scale up and sustain their businesses. These
programs are delivered by the implementation partner, FDConsults which also
works with each retailer over 3 months post training to help them succeed. Each
beneficiary retailer is linked to a one-on-one mentor for guidance and consistent
support.
Speaking on the outcome of the program so far, Mr. Phranklin Audu, Lead
Trainer & Head of Partnerships at FDConsults , said, “It is a delight for me to see
the progress already made by the beneficiaries of “Nestlé Empowering Rural
Women in Nigeria project.” The reports of increase in turnover and profit are very
encouraging.
Following the successful implementation of the first and second
phases, I am happy that 50 more women are joining the program today.
FDConsults is privileged to be a part of this success story and remains focused
on helping each beneficiary attain her highest potential.
I encourage each
participant here today to take full advantage of this unique opportunity to grow
her business.”
FDConsults has a track record of helping rural dwellers access information and
skills to improve their standards of living.
Mrs. Peace Eze, a beneficiary from Obolo-Afor in Enugu State, said “I am very
happy to have been selected to benefit from this program. I am going home with
good news. With what we were taught today, I now have the knowledge to
support my business to grow. With the help of the goods that Nestlé is also
giving to us, I have everything I need to make my business succeed. I thank
Nestlé for this important initiative, it will help all the women benefiting from the
program a lot.”
The first phase of “Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project” which
was launched in the suburbs of the Federal Capital Territory in August 2021
reached 50 beneficiaries while the second phase launched in Osogbo in October
2021 added 50 more women to the program. With this launch in Enugu State,
the program now includes 150 beneficiaries, halfway to the target the company
set for the initiative.
“Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria project” is one of the Company’s
Creating Shared Value (CSV) initiatives to contribute towards building thriving
communities by improving livelihoods.
