Nestlé Nigeria - Empowering More Rural Women Across Nigeria

 

Nestlé Nigeria is helping more rural women in Nigeria build financial security and 

improve their standard of living with the launch of the fourth phase of the Nestlé 

Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project in Port Harcourt recently. An 

additional 50 beneficiaries from the South South region of the country, selected 

from the company’s value chain, were inducted into the program at a ceremony that 

included several training sessions. 

At the training and induction session in Port Harcourt, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial 

Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are happy to fulfil our promise of 

expanding Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project to reach more 

women in other parts of Nigeria. We are pleased with the progress made so far by 

the 150 currently benefiting from the project. The beneficiaries who currently enjoy 

the training and mentorship provided by Nestlé and her implementation partners –

FDConsults, are reporting faster turnover and increased revenue as well as stronger 

visibility of their outlets within their locations. We are therefore confident that these 

additional 50 selected retailers in South South, will also reap the full benefits of the 

support we are providing through training, mentorship and grants.” 

The beneficiaries comprising female retailers in Nestlé’s value chain, will receive 

grants valued at 300% of their monthly sales in form of Nestlé’s products. They will 

also participate in training and mentorship programs which will enable them scale 

up their businesses, thereby increasing their household incomes. 

In his remarks at the induction and training for the new beneficiaries, Mr. Phranklin 

Audu, Head, Partnerships & Training at FDConsults said, “The Nestlé Empowering 

Rural Women project is such an amazing initiative. The progress and growth 

recorded by the women in the several states where the project is already ongoing is 

quite refreshing to see. We are talking about visible growth. Grade-C retailers are 

moving up the distribution ladder and more importantly these women are doing 

more sales turnovers thereby earning higher incomes for themselves. We must 

commend the visioners of this project and the entire project team for staying true to 

cause”.

One of the beneficiaries Mrs. Joyce Nwaiwo, expressing her gratitude to Nestlé

said, “I feel so happy about this opportunity. I still cannot believe that this is true, 

because it is just like a dream. I want to say a big thank you to Nestlé.”

The Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project is designed to help rural 

women retailers scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three 

times the size of their existing businesses. It is one of the Creating Shared Value 

initiatives that Nestlé deploys to help build thriving communities by improving 

livelihoods. 

The training and mentorship elements of the project are provided by FDConsults

who has a track record of helping rural dwellers access information and skills to 

improve their standard of living. Each beneficiary retailer is linked to a mentor for 

one-on-one guidance and consistent support over three months to ensure their 

success. 

The project started in August 2021, in North Central Nigeria, with the induction of 

the first 50 women beneficiaries into the project from the suburbs of Abuja. In 

November of last year, the project moved to the South West and added an 

additional 50 beneficiaries, selected from the axis of Oshogbo, Ede and Ilesha in 

Osun State. In February of this year, the South East benefited with 50 inductees 

from the Nsukka and Obolo-Afo axis of Enugu State. 

With the additional 50 recently inducted into the project in Port Harcourt, Rivers 

State, 200 women have so far been reached under the program. The program aims 

to reach 300 women across the country before the end of 2022.