The Covid-19 pandemic has affected our businesses adversely and we need to restart again. This was the cry of the women of Uzoagba, in Ikeduru L.G.A of Imo State on October 15, 2020 when CSAAE met with them at the Central Primary School, Uzoagba for the “Women Economic Inclusion and Empowerment Drive.” The goal of the drive is to empower 360,000 breadwinner moms by December 2021 through the Centre’s Young Mompreneurs Initiative (YOMI).
The Centre’s Career Building and Entrepreneurship Program (CBEP) manager, Ms. Ifeoma Oronsaye in her address allayed the fears of the women by encouraging them to embrace YOMI and the benefits therein. She said that they may be facing setbacks and hardships in their businesses due to lack of proper business management training. According to her, a business that is formally registered and properly managed can benefit from several business opportunities including access to business funds from the government. YOMI focuses on assisting women to grow their businesses by mainstreaming them from the informal to the formal sector. This involves the registering of businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission and opening of business accounts. It also assists the women to have access to loans through their partners in the financial institutions, links the women to potential customers who are large buyers and market actors as well as assisting them in accessing insurance policies including health, business and children-education.
Speaking with one of the participants, Mrs. Amarachi Ehirim from Umueme Village of Uzoagba, she said: “Prior to this seminar, I deemed it fit to pull out money from my business for domestic expenses without proper accounting. I do this due to the daily demands from my family. And it is really liquidating my business.”
When faced with this situation, it’s worrisome and a pain in the neck for me. But with this seminar today, I am happy. I have learnt how to account, save and make expenses without liquidating my business and that it is important for me to open a business bank account and seek for payable loans from certain banks.”
Uzoagba Community in Ikeduru L.G.A is a remote area that is very difficult to access. This is a huge setback to the businesses and lifestyle of the indigenes especially the women. With no paved roads and drainage it is often an impossibility to venture out of Uzoagba when it rains as the roads are flooded. When the roads are inaccessible, it cripples businesses and cuts them from development. CSAAE also noted that aside from the inaccessible roads, in most parts of Uzoagba, indigenes live without electricity, in this 21st century.
It is worthy to note that CSAAE is a nonprofit organization founded by Rev. Fr. Dr. Godswill Agbagwa (priest, ethicist, socialpreneur and youth animator). The non-profit organization is dedicated to helping young people build great careers, cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurship, become effective leaders and embrace their roles as critical actors in building a better Nigeria. The Centre pursues its mission through three programs that share the common goal of creating positive social, economic and political change one person at a time.
1. A Career Building and Entrepreneurship Program (CBEP) that helps young people get the education they need, secure employment or initiate enterprises that contribute to the development of Nigeria.
2. An Effective Leadership Program (ELP) that nurtures leaders committed to the development of Nigeria.
3. A Youth Ethics and Anticorruption Program (YEAP) that raises the consciousness of young people to the importance of good governance, rule of law, human rights and anticorruption towards the development of Nigeria.
CSAAE carries out its operations from its Owerri and Abuja offices in Nigeria with technical support from its U.S. office. The Founder Fr. Godswill, grew up in Nigeria. While studying abroad as a graduate student, he was struck by the contrasts he saw between the levels of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa compared to the Western countries he visited. Those experiences became the genesis of CSAAE, its programs, and the five core values at the foundation of his work namely: punctuality, integrity, solidarity, creativity, and accountability.
To benefit from this drive, please call Ifeoma: +2347035711911. Email: cbep@csaaeinc.org
By Sr. Roseline Reuben
Communications Manager, CSAAE
